Rodney and Significant Other Playlist Challenge
by dwparsnip
Summary: Write a fic about Rodney and a significant other, romance or friendship, based on the title of a song from your playlist. Full details inside.
1. Heart

Alrighty then- the challenge is: write a fic about Rodney and a significant other, friendship or romance, based upon the title of a song from your music (WMP playlist, IPod, etc.) No lyrics other than the title and the title _must_ appear in the fic somewhere. Does _not_ have to be canon. 500 words or less. Ready...set...GO!

MGM owns SGA, not me.

500 words exactly.

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><p>Jennifer sat in the large chair in her quarters trying to concentrate on the inventory report she'd been reading. Unfortunately, she simply couldn't focus on the words and numbers before her. Her mind, like the rest of her body, could only think of one thing at the moment: Rodney.<p>

She glanced at the clock on her nightstand and sighed. _I hope he gets here soon,_ she thought, anxiousness and hopefulness giving her inner voice a childlike quality that made her cringe. She'd missed Rodney something fierce over the last six days despite the fact that they'd seen each other every day, if only for a few minutes. Their schedules had never been so out of sync before, with Jennifer doing the night shift and Rodney working hard on the new Midway project. Their time together during those six days had consisted of brief encounters while they crossed paths leaving and entering her quarters, though they had managed to have two abbreviated breakfasts together. Last night had been her last night shift and she was looking forward to spending some quality time with Rodney.

She sighed then gave up on the report. She powered down her tablet and waited for Rodney to come home.

As luck would have it, her timing was right on for just as the tablet's power light faded out the door opened and Rodney strode into her quarters.

"So what do you want to do tonight?" asked Rodney as he slipped his uniform jacket off his shoulders and tossed it over the back of a chair.

Jennifer eyed Rodney as he placed his tablet on the desk and powered it up. He initiated some sort of program and then turned to look at her.

"Jennifer?" he asked with raised brows and a hint of concern in his voice. "You okay?"

Jennifer nodded and gave her love a warm smile. "I'm just thinking about your question."

For a moment Rodney looked confused, but then he gave her a quick nod and said, "Yes, right. I asked you what you want to do."

_Yes you did,_ she thought gleefully. She stood up and watched as Rodney checked his tablet before putting it into power save mode and then turning to look at her.

"Well?" said Rodney as he started to walk towards her. "Would you like to watch a movie?"

Jennifer smiled and gently shook her head.

"How about getting something to eat?" suggested Rodney as he came to a stop a few feet from her.

Again Jennifer gave her head a slow shake.

"Did you want to go to the Mess?" asked Rodney, whose brow furrowed when Jennifer shook her head again. "A walk?"

Jennifer's smile remained intact as Rodney looked at her and repeated the question that had started it all. "What do you want to do tonight?"

Jennifer stepped towards him and put her arms around his neck. As she drew his lips towards hers she whispered, "All I wanna do is make love to you."

End.

A/N: "All I Wanna Do is Make Love to You" was written by Robert "Mutt" Lange, and released by the band Heart in their 1990 album _Brigade_.


	2. Genesis

MGM still owns SGA. 498 words.

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><p>Rodney felt a familiar shiver on the back of his neck and bristled with enough force that Sheppard glanced up and gave him an odd look.<p>

"You okay, McKay?" the Colonel asked as he looked back down to the pre-mission report they had been going over. Teyla and Ronon had already gone off to do their own thing while John and Rodney had moved to the Mess to get some refreshments while they went over some of the finer details, like equipment requisitions.

"Fine," answered Rodney after a few moments. "Just had a chill… or something."

Sheppard's eyes looked back up to Rodney as though he'd caught something in the scientist's voice, but he looked back down to the report without making further comment, much to Rodney's relief.

Rodney closed his eyes for a second and another wave of tingly shivers started out on his neck and slowly moved up onto the back of his head. He gave his head a gentle shake and his eyes found something of deep interest to him sitting on the other side of the Mess. Jennifer wasn't looking at him, and she gave no indication that she even knew he was there but he'd be damned if the fingers of her right hand weren't flexing in perfect synchronicity with the chills he was feeling on his neck and head.

Not for the first time he wondered when it was that Jennifer had developed an invisible touch. He really couldn't pinpoint when it had started, at least not with any absolute certainty. He was fairly certain it was after the Tunney thing, because he really couldn't remember experiencing it before that. The first time he truly remembered noticing it was one day not long after returning to Atlantis after the Tunney debacle. They had been sitting at opposite ends of the table in the conference room doing a debriefing of the event with Woolsey and the senior staff. Suddenly he'd began feeling the oddest sensations on his right leg, almost like a tickling feeling that started at the bottom of his shin and slowly worked its way up to his knee and then moved back down again. It had gotten so irritating that after three attempts at scratching his leg did nothing to stop it, he'd actually bent down and looked at his leg to make sure nothing was going on. It hadn't been until he'd actually looked that he'd realized that no one had even been close enough to touch him. Surprised and a little perturbed, he'd started to straighten up only to stop when he'd noticed Jennifer's legs at the other end of the table. She'd had them crossed at the knees with her right leg draped over the left, and her right leg was slowly moving up and down just like the tickle on his leg was moving up and down.

"You sure you're okay, Rodney?" asked Sheppard.

Rodney nodded and smiled when Jennifer suddenly looked at him. "Very okay."

A/N: "Invisible Touch" was written and performed by the group Genesis on their 1986 album _Invisible Touch._


	3. Roxette

451 words. Still don't own SGA.

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><p>"I've got this… thing, I guess, coming up on Earth," Rodney said as he and John walked towards the transporter. "An old acquaintance is doing a thing and, well, I sort of…"<p>

When Rodney stopped sputtering John gave him a sidelong glance. It was impossible for him to keep the humor out of his voice when he spoke. "Spit it out, Rodney. How bad can it be?"

Rodney sighed and said, "It's not bad at all!" He thought about it for a second and his shoulders sagged. "Oh crap… it is that bad."

John stopped and put his hand on Rodney's shoulder to get his friend to do the same. "Okay, Rodney, calm down," he said when he saw that Rodney's face had dropped and turned slightly red. "What is it?

"This thing, it's a physics presentation, and I invited Jennifer to go with me," Rodney said, his voice strained as though he was just now realizing the gravity of what he'd done.

"You asked Keller out on a date?" asked John, his voice a mixture of surprise and happiness. "About time!"

"Yes!" snapped Rodney with wide and wild eyes. "To a physics presentation!"

"Easy, Rodney," Sheppard said with a soft voice. "Did you tell her what this thing is?" When Rodney nodded Sheppard asked, "So she knows that it's a science… whatever?" Rodney nodded again and Sheppard smirked. "And she agreed to go with you anyway?" Rodney nodded for a third time and Sheppard shrugged. "What's the trouble?"

"Our first date, John!" exclaimed Rodney with a frustrated thrust of his arms to his side. "Our first date is going to be to a… whatever the hell Tunney is doing!"

"If you play your cards right, Rodney," said Sheppard as he started walking towards the transporter again, "that won't be the whole date." When Rodney fell into step beside him he turned to give Rodney a grin. "If you really play them right, there'll be other dates."

"I can't believe I asked her to go to a physics presentation," moaned Rodney with a roll of his eyes.

"I still don't see the problem," John said as they neared the transporter. "She wouldn't have agreed to go with you if she didn't want to. And if it's really bothering you that much, just make it up to her."

The door to the transporter slid open and the two men stepped inside. "And how do I do that, Colonel Romance?"

"Listen to your heart, Rodney" said John as he reached over to touch the destination panel. He pressed the appropriate area and said as he turned back to Rodney and the doors slid shut, "I'm pretty sure you've got one in there somewhere."

A/N: "Listen to your Heart" was written by Per Gessle and Mats Persson, and was released by the group Roxette in 1988 in Sweden and 1989 worldwide.


	4. Within Temptation

Not run through a beta and a little over the limit. Sorry. ;)

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><p>Jennifer sighed as the gentle ocean breeze washed over her. She closed her eyes for a moment and tightened her hands on the balcony rail and tried very hard to ignore the ache on her chest.<p>

Three days ago Rodney had entered her quarters and announced that things weren't working out between them. Before she'd even processed that Rodney had broken up with her, he had left. She'd been flabbergasted to the point where she hadn't even had the wherewithal to stop him from leaving and demanding an explanation. Once her wits had returned she'd sought him out, but he'd timed it perfectly: a Wraith hive appeared out of nowhere and all hell broke loose.

She opened her eyes as a familiar sound from the balcony below her reached her ears. She looked out over the ocean and sure enough a moment later she saw a splash on the water.

_Sheppard_, thought Jennifer with a smile. He always decompressed after a stressful situation by hitting some golf balls off a balcony, often times in the company of…

"Why am I here again, Sheppard?"

…Rodney.

Jennifer's heart skipped a beat and she automatically leaned forward to try to hear better.

"I'm trying to figure out why my best friend- and don't let that go to your head- broke up with the best thing that ever happened to him."

Rodney's voice was ice cold. "That's none of your business."

"What part of 'you're my best friend' don't you understand, Rodney?" replied Sheppard. "And Jennifer is my friend too, so spill before I have to get serious and let everyone know what you've been hiding in that closet in the North Pier."

Jennifer's nose crinkled in confusion- she had no idea what John was talking about.

Rodney started sputtering indignantly, but it only last a few seconds before he sighed and said, "Fine." There was a brief pause. "It's for her own good."

Jennifer's eyes widened in surprise and then narrowed in anger.

"I heard some people talking," explained Rodney. "They couldn't believe that someone like Jennifer would lower herself..."

That was all she could hear before the door closing behind her cut off all outside sound. She strode quickly down the corridor and down the stairs, anger and frustration fuelling her march. She didn't even break her stride as she approached the door to the balcony that Sheppard and Rodney were on. Thankfully, it functioned properly and a moment later Sheppard and Rodney turned to look at her.

She walked right up to Rodney, and before he could say anything she whapped him on the shoulder. "How dare you! You did this because of something someone said?"

"They said…"

"I don't care what they said," she interrupted. "You need to listen to **me**. I love you." She gave him a smile and her heart fluttered when he smiled back. "You're all I need and all I want." She took his hands in hers. "I don't need or want anything or anyone else." She gave him a second and then said, "Well?"

Rodney sighed, and Jennifer could see the weight being lifted from his soul.

"I love you too."

There was only response to that: she leaned forward and kissed him.

A/N: 'All I Need' was written by Sharon den Adel and Robert Westerholt of the group Within Temptation for their 2007 album _The Heart of Everything._


	5. Aerosmith

I still don't own SGA- MGM does. 507 words….sorry.

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><p>Jennifer sat on the toilet and tried to figure out how to tell Rodney he'd stepped over the line and was driving her dangerously close to the wrong side of the sanity-insanity border. As it was he'd driven her to seek refuge in the bathroom, the only place he wouldn't dare put…<p>

She stiffened and then looked up and started scrutinizing the walls and fixtures in the room. After several minutes of intense examination yielded nothing out of the ordinary, she relaxed again.

Jennifer sighed and placed her hand on her abdomen, running her hand back and forth over the slight curve of her stomach. She was at that stage in her pregnancy where she could feel a difference but it wasn't easily visible to others. She already dearly loved the life growing within her, even if that life was the reason Rodney had done what he'd done and ended up fraying her nerves within an inch of their lives.

Jennifer's hand stilled on her stomach as she took a deep breath and stood up. She slowly walked to the door and closed her eyes for a second, then opened them as the door slid open. She walked out into the living room of their quarters, only to come to a stop a few feet from the bathroom door when she eyed the man driving her nuts- the man she loved- standing on a chair fiddling with something on the wall.

Before she could ask what he was doing he jumped off the chair and tossed something onto the couch. A look at the object revealed it to be one of the many mini cams that Rodney had set up in their quarters. Next to it on the couch were several identical cameras.

Jennifer's eyes moved up to focus on Rodney just as he turned towards her. He came to a stop when he saw her that was so abrupt she almost laughed.

"I'm sorry," he blurted out before she could say anything. He motioned around the room with his right hand as he added somewhat unnecessarily, "About the cameras. I shouldn't have put them up. I'm sorry."

Jennifer walked towards him until she could gently wrap her arms around his neck. "There's no need to apologize, Rodney." His arms slipped around her waist and she smiled. "It was just so… uncomfortable knowing my every move was being recorded."

"Maybe I went a little nuts," he agreed. At her smirk and raised right eyebrow he had to concede, "A lot nuts. I just… I don't want to miss a thing, and with all the crap that goes on around here I…," he paused and shrugged his shoulders, "…just worry, that's all."

All of Jennifer's anxiety and frustration melted away to be replaced by an overwhelming sense of love and affection. "I love you."

"I love you," replied Rodney, and with the sort of gesture she'd become used to seeing from him, Rodney reached over with his right hand and touched her belly. "And I love you, too."

A/N: "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" is a song written by Diane Warren and performed by the band Aerosmith and featured in the film 'Armageddon'.


	6. The Boss

499 words. :)

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><p>As was usually the case when Jeannie visited Atlantis she ended up telling stories about her brother that was guaranteed to do two things: make his friends laugh and make Rodney angry. For her it was simply the way of the world that little sisters elicit laughter from others at their older brother's expense.<p>

And Jennifer was enjoying every moment of it. She believed without a shadow of a doubt that she'd come to know Rodney as well as anyone, and better than most. Yet she dearly loved to hear Jeannie's stories about him because they generally showed brief and exciting glimpses of the person she loved.

As the laughter from Jeannie's latest story died down, Jennifer noticed that the older woman had fallen silent. More than that her eyes, which had been bright and dancing with laughter, had dulled and become eerily sad.

The others in her impromptu audience- John, Teyla, Ronon, Woolsey, Chuck, Amelia and Zelenka- didn't seem to notice and began talking amongst themselves.

Jennifer got up from her seat as subtly as she was able and walked over and sat next to Jeannie. When Rodney's sister looked at her Jennifer quietly asked, "Are you okay?"

Jeannie gave Jennifer a reassuring and appreciative smile. "I am." She leaned closer to Jennifer and whispered, "I was just remembering a time when Mer came to me. He was very upset about something, and I remember him asking if his days would ever get better." Jeannie gave Jennifer a slight shrug. "You know by now that Mer's childhood wasn't exactly fun."

Jennifer nodded at the understatement. She could relate to some of it- the bullying and the ostracization that sometimes went with being a child genius- but when it came to parents and a home life they had been at the opposite ends of the spectrum. She had loving, patient and supportive parents while Rodney didn't.

Jeannie sighed which drew Jennifer's attention back to her. "You have no idea how happy I am that's he's found a place he feels at home in. I've never seen him so happy and at peace with himself."

Jennifer almost laughed at the prospect of a peaceful Rodney but she didn't, mostly because she knew how he felt.

Just then Rodney walked into the room and he stopped when everyone's attention turned to him. He immediately realized what had been happening and his shoulders slumped as he prepared himself for the inevitable onslaught of good-natured yet potent ribbing.

Before it had a chance to begin Jennifer stood up and walked up to him. She put her arms around his neck and drew him into a soul-searing, earth-shaking, kiss to end all kisses kiss. When she finally eased away from him he blurted out, "What was that for?"

She smiled and her voice was low enough so that only he could hear her, "To remind you that these are better days."

Rodney looked confused for a second until he glanced at Jeannie. "I'll say."

A/N: "Better Days" was written by the Boss (Bruce Springsteen) for his 1992 album _Lucky Town._


	7. Exile

549 words. ;)

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><p>Rodney walked towards the door to his quarters with a spring in his step. It had been a long time since he and Jennifer had both had the night off. It had seemed for a while as though Pegasus and Atlantis herself had been conspiring against them, coming up with situations just to keep them apart. Tonight was almost a repeat performance with a failing power conduit in the Jumper bay making him miss his dinner date with his fiancé. They had agreed that he would meet her in her office and then have a nice quiet dinner, then go to their quarters for some alone time. Then the conduit failed, leaving the bay doors unable to open. He'd only managed to get a brief call to Jennifer to let her know he'd be late.<p>

He opened the door to their quarters and barged inside, barely resisting rubbing his hands anticipation at being with Jennifer. He stopped when he saw her. She was sitting on the couch, her head hung low with her elbows resting on her knees and her face hidden in her hands.

He rushed over to her and got down on his right knee in front of her. "Jennifer?" When she didn't respond he put his hands on hers and gently pulled them away from her face. What he saw surprised him. She didn't seem distraught or even upset. Nor did she seem to be angry. If anything she seemed to be… embarrassed?

"What's wrong?"

Jennifer looked into his eyes and her cheeks, which had been red to begin with, flushed even more. Her hands grabbed onto Rodney's as though they were a lifeline and her lips quivered.

"Before you called to tell me you'd be late," she said, her voice slightly hesitant, "some… one… came into my office."

The way she said that sent Rodney's heart into overdrive as his brilliant mind and over-reactive imagination began creating heinous scenarios that fit with the situation.

"I was crouched down looking for something and my back was to the door." She hesitated and she gently bit her lower lip as she was known to do when she was nervous. "I thought it was you so," she stopped for a second. Her cheeks got even brighter and she gave him a small shrug as she said, "So I thought I'd… tease…you."

Rodney felt his eyebrow raise before he could stop it, and his reaction caused Jennifer's eyes to widen and then look away from him.

"What did you do?" he asked.

It took several seconds for her to look back to him, and when she did she said, "I said… 'Right on time for a change. Just for that I'm going…'"

Rodney waited for nearly thirty seconds before saying, "And?"

Jennifer huffed and her lips formed a pronounced pout. "I said… 'Just for that I'm going to kiss you all over.'" The redness in her cheeks spread upward onto her forehead and back into her ears. "Mr. Woolsey wasn't impressed."

Many comments came to Rodney's mind, and in retrospect the one he picked to say probably wasn't the best one because after he said, "Would've impressed me," he found himself sitting on the floor with a pissed off Jennifer vowing it was never going to happen for him.

A/N: "Kiss You All Over" was written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn and released by the group Exile in 1978.


	8. Hey Rosetta!

500 Words

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><p>Jennifer barely managed to keep the tears at bay as she watched Rodney sleep peacefully in the bed. Ordinarily she would enjoy watching him in such a serene state, but the fact that his current peace was medically induced took the edge off any joy or happiness she would have otherwise felt.<p>

As it was, the only thing that kept her from breaking down completely was the knowledge that he would eventually be okay.

"You had to do it, didn't you?" she whispered as her right hand caressed his. It was virtually the only part of him that had managed to escape injury. "You just had to be the hero."

She could just imagine the 'Has she lost her mind' looks she would have received from most people. Funny how they still couldn't imagine Rodney being the hero, even after all this time and all he'd done.

Jennifer looked up to his closed eyes. She could imagine the bright blue orbs underneath the closed lids looking at her as she'd seen many times before, and for a moment she could feel herself getting lost in them.

She shook herself out of that sensation and let out the breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding in. She winced when it came out in a pitiful shudder.

They were supposed to celebrate their one year wedding anniversary in two days, and in all likelihood she would be the only one of them conscious and definitely not in the mood to celebrate because her husband had gone and almost gotten himself killed.

Again.

"You need to stop, Rodney," she said as she tightened her hold on his hand. "We made a pact to be with each other until…" Her voice failed as she remembered their vows and how they ended with '…til death do you part.' She sniffed back the tears and thought back to the first time they'd physically become one. They had still been basking in the afterglow when she commented that she could have stayed like that forever. Rodney, having found a foothold into the realm of romanticism immediately replied that he'd agreed wholeheartedly and promised to do all that he could to make it happen.

Jennifer cleared her throat and leaned in closer to Rodney. "We're in this together, Rodney. I need you and every time you go through the gate I… I don't know if you'll be coming back." She sighed and blinked causing the tears that had been constantly building up to finally spill onto her cheeks. She leaned down and cuddled her cheek against the back of his hand. "You need to promise me you'll be careful." It was the best she could hope for. He was the brightest of them all and needed in the field, and he loved doing what he did. She just couldn't ask him to stop going. "Just…promise me."

If she had been looking at his face at that moment, she would have seen Rodney silently mouth, "I promise."

A/N: "We Made a Pact" was written by Tim Baker and released by his band Hey Rosetta! on their 2008 album _Into Your Lungs._


	9. Matchbox Twenty

547 words. With apologies/compliments to theicemenace.

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><p>For the umpteenth time since Rodney put the cursed thing on, he wondered how he'd been suckered into wearing it. It's not that he disliked bowties per se, but this particular one seemed to have been invented with the sole purpose of slowly choking him to death.<p>

_It's all Sheppard's fault,_ he thought to himself as he slipped the index and middle fingers of his hand underneath his collar and contemplated taking the damned thing off until it was time to go.

"Don't you dare take that off," admonished Sheppard as he walked in.

Rodney dropped his hand to his side and glared at his friend. "Easy for you to say! You're not being choked to death by an evil piece of cloth."

"Calm down, McKay," said Ronon as he ambled into the room via the same door Sheppard had used. He walked over to Sheppard and both of them turned to face Rodney.

Rodney studied them both for a second and sighed at their immaculate appearance. "How come you two look like super models on steroids?"

Ronon and Sheppard eyed each other for a second and turned back to Rodney.

"You know how it is, Rodney," drawled Sheppard with an unmistakable smirk on his face and a playful tug on his bowtie, "when you got it, you got it."

Rodney rolled his eyes and was about to offer a brilliant and painfully profane retort when a soft knock on the doorframe stopped him.

The three men turned their attention to the door to find Chuck leaning around the frame. "Sorry to interrupt, sirs," he said, "but it's time."

"Thanks, Chuck," said Sheppard with a smile. As the gate tech disappeared he looked first to Ronon then to Rodney. "Well, you heard the man… it's time to go."

Rodney nodded at his friends and walked through the door and turned left. It only took a few seconds to get to their destination.

The Mess had been converted into a pseudo chapel, with rows upon rows of chairs and a small section near the front of the room where the ceremony would take place.

Rodney surveyed the room as he walked to the altar area and internally whistled in appreciation. _It's a full house. Not that I expected anything less._

Rodney took his place at the front of the room as did John and Ronon and before he knew it a soft tune was playing. He looked up to see Teyla walking down the aisle towards them. She smiled as she veered to her left to take her place. The music changed and his heart fluttered when Jennifer appeared. She gracefully walked up the aisle, and when she reached them she stopped for the briefest of moments, smiled and followed Teyla.

The music changed again and the first notes of 'Here Comes the Bride' wafted through the room. As Amanda Cole appeared with Richard Woolsey on her arm, John leaned over and said to Rodney, "It's amazing how far we've come."

Rodney leaned forward and looked past John to catch a glimpse of his wife proudly standing next to Teyla. The index finger of his right hand reverently touched his wedding band as he replied, "No kidding."

A/N: "How Far We've Come" was written by Rob Thomas, Paul Doucette, Kyle Cook and Brian Yale of the band Matchbox Twenty for their 2007 album _Exile on Mainstream._


	10. The Irish Rovers

499 words.

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><p>The first thing that Rodney became aware of was the fact that he was half on the bed and half off the bed. Luckily for him it was his upper half that had made it onto his prescription mattress. Unluckily for him his lower half hadn't, leaving him in a kneeling position with knees throbbing so badly that he must have collapsed pretty hard onto the floor. Which brought him back to where he started: being incredibly lucky his upper body- including his all important melon- made it onto his bed.<p>

The next thing he became aware of was the splitting headache that only intensified when he tried to open his eyes. It took four aborted attempts to get them to stay open and his head didn't like it one bit. He thanked God that the light in the room was minimal.

He gingerly raised his head from the bed and groaned, though to his credit he kept from collapsing back down onto the bed. His mouth opened and closed several times trying to determine why the hell his mouth was so dry and it was then that he noticed he wasn't alone.

On the other side of the bed was Sheppard laying on his stomach with his left arm and left leg hanging off the bed and his right arm laying lifeless beside him. His head had managed to barely find a pillow and was turned so that he was facing him. Rodney groaned again and made a mental note to have the pillow incinerated as the area directly below Sheppard's mouth looked to completely drenched with drool.

A muffled snore made Rodney carefully turn his head to his left so he could see towards the foot of his bed. He had to blink his eyes three times to make sure he was actually seeing what he thought he saw: Ronon's feet. From what Rodney could tell, the Satedan was on his back on the floor and had managed to somehow get his feet on the bed. Oddly enough, he'd managed to take off his boots and socks.

Rodney groaned again as his hand came up and tried to wipe some of the sleep out of his eyes. He just finished and let his hand drop back onto the bed when he heard a noise from Sheppard that sounded a lot like a curse.

"Holy crap," the Colonel said, his voice rough and deep, "wasn't that a party!" Sheppard coughed to clear his throat and looked at Rodney. "I've been to a few stags, McKay, but that one beats them all."

"Wish I could remember it all," said Rodney as the thumb and index finger of his right hand pinched the bridge of his nose.

A moment later the door opened and Rodney and John turned towards it.

They found Jennifer looking at them with evil in her eyes and all they could do as she reached over to turn on the lights was squeak out, "No!"

A/N: "Wasn't That a Party" was written by Tom Paxton, but the best known version (and the one I know) is the one done by The Irish Rovers.


	11. Billy Ray Cyrus

Gone a little off the beaten path with this one. It centers on the McKay Number One in my "McKay Plus Four" fic. Stop reading now Dani. ;)

500 words.

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><p>Rodney had been off-world at the time- his own doing though not a soul would dare say anything to him about it, not even Sheppard.<p>

So it was that when Dr. Jennifer Keller became Mrs. Jennifer Dex he'd been sitting in the engine room of the _Sun Tzu_. Sam had been very good about it all, not even having batted an eyelash when he'd asked her if he could tag along for a few days. She'd treated him as she'd always treated him, as a friend and colleague. There had been no sympathy in her eyes, simply friendship. In fact the only time she'd let her feelings about the situation out was when she'd seen him off. The hug had lasted a second longer than usual, and there had been an unmistakable waver in her voice when she'd told him to take care of himself. All he'd been able to manage before the transport beam whisked him away was a grateful smile that disappeared the instant he'd found himself in the gate room.

Now he sat in his quarters with three tablets powered up and various projects running in an effort to find something that could rid them of the Replicators. It wasn't going well at all.

He glared at the door when the chime sounded but got up to open it anyway, having a pretty good idea who was on the other side. His guess was confirmed when the door slid open to reveal Sheppard in the frame.

"Welcome back," the Colonel said warmly. He held up the half dozen cans of beer he had in his left hand and said, "Care to join me?"

"I'm probably not very good company right now," replied Rodney honestly.

John smirked. "And that's new how exactly?"

Rodney tried to keep a straight face, but the slight rise of Sheppard's eyebrows did him in and he laughed for the first time in what seemed like months. "Not really in the mood," said Rodney, "but thanks."

John nodded. "If you change your mind," the Colonel said as he turned and started to walk away, "you know where to find me."

Rodney watched John for another second before closing the door and moving back to one of his tablets. He looked at the device for a moment, then summoned up his courage and hacked into city's internal message system. He did a search and found exactly what he was looking for in one of Lt. Reed's messages. He opened the attachment and felt his heart wither away.

Jennifer and Ronon's wedding picture was beautiful- **she** was beautiful. Rodney studied the picture, committing every detail to memory. He let his eyes linger on Jennifer's face for another second before exiting out of the picture and message. Eight minutes later he took a healthy swig of beer, looked to Sheppard and verbalized the thought that had been echoing in his mind since he saw the picture of the beautiful bride and her groom. "It could've been me."

A/N: "Could've Been Me" was written by Reed Nielsen and Monty Powell and released by Billy Ray Cyrus on his 1992 album _Some Gave All._


	12. Bob and Doug McKenzie

500 words.

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><p>"I still can't believe it!"<p>

Rodney rolled his eyes and almost threw the very valuable and terribly fragile piece of Ancient tech he was playing with at his friend's noggin.

"You and that beautiful, younger…"

Rodney glared daggers at John, though if Sheppard saw it he did a brilliant job of ignoring it.

"…woman are…" John stopped and gave Rodney a look of sincere admiration. "Way to go, Rodney."

"Look for the last time," said Rodney as he quickly leaned back from the object he to study, "take off and leave me the hell alone!"

John's eyes widened momentarily in surprise at Rodney's outburst and then narrowed as he studied Rodney. "Are you alright, Rodney?"

"No I'm not alright!" declared Rodney so loudly that Sheppard's eyebrows made it halfway up his forehead. "I've been trying for two hours to figure out what the hell this thing is and you haven't given me enough peace and quiet to even begin to scratch the surface!"

"Rodney…"

"And for what?" demanded Rodney angrily. "All you've been doing is sit there and make fun of me by continuously point out our age difference, how different we are and how shocking it is that despite all of that we managed to get together."

"Look, Rodney…" tried Sheppard, but Rodney would have no part of it.

"No you look!" yelled Rodney which drew another surprised look from Sheppard. He stopped and took a deep breath, and when he spoke his voice was calm and quiet. "I don't need you, or anyone else for that matter, to point out just how… unbelievable it is that Jennifer would be in love with me. I don't need to be reminded how lucky I am, or how shocking it is." Rodney sighed and leaned back in his chair. "You can't say anything I haven't thought myself already." Rodney fell silent for a few moments, then without warning he cleared his throat and he was his usual snarky self when he leaned forward and started looking at the Ancient tech in front of him. "So leave me alone."

Rodney roughly removed a panel of the device and had just started to get into when he was interrupted by Sheppard calling his name. His head turned sharply towards Sheppard but he held his tongue when the Colonel held his hands up to indicate he was asking for a truce.

"Look, Rodney," Sheppard said as he lowered his hands, "I'm sorry." At Rodney's disbelieving humph John said, "Believe me, Rodney no one is happier for you two than I am. Really. I just…" John shrugged his shoulders, rather stupidly he thought after the fact, "I never had a chance to give Dave grief when he and his wife got together like brothers are supposed to…"

The vinegar that had been running in Rodney's veins evaporated and he gave Sheppard a sincere smile. "Thanks."

They looked at each other for another awkward moment and Sheppard said, "Should we hug or something?"

"Oh take off!"

A/N: "Take Off" was written by those great hosers Bob and Doug McKenzie (aka Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas) for their 1981 album _The Great White North_. The song features Rush singer Geddy Lee doing the chorus and some speaking near the end.


	13. Tina Turner

500 words. Not a happy one...don't know where it came from.

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><p>Jennifer walked towards her quarters still smiling at the joke Captain Hunter told her a few minutes earlier. She always enjoyed talking to Henry Hunter, partly because he was a funny man but mostly because he hailed from the city of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, near her beloved Chippewa Falls.<p>

She palmed the door to her quarters open and walked inside. It was late and she fully expected Rodney to be in bed considering he'd had an early morning and would have another early rise the next day.

He wasn't.

He was standing by the couch, a pronounced scowl upon his face and his arms crossed across his chest. "Where were you?"

She ignored the accusatory tone of his voice and answered the question as she walked past him. "I was in the Mess," she said as she removed her uniform jacket. She tossed it onto the back of the couch and then reached for her tablet resting on the coffee table. "Having a late dinner."

She sat down on the couch and brought her tablet to life.

"In the company of Captain Dimples, I bet."

Jennifer sighed as she tried to quell the frustration threatening to bubble up from the pit of her stomach. They'd had this conversation before and she'd told him time and again that Henry was nothing but a friend. "Please, Rodney, I don't wanna fight tonight."

She heard a noise behind her and realized his arms had slid down his stomach and dropped to his sides. "Neither do I," he whispered.

Jennifer kept her eyes on her tablet though she couldn't focus on it. She dearly hoped Rodney would come to her and give her one of his famous massages as a token of his repentance. He'd become a master of discerning just what muscles were bothering her, then hitting just the right spots with the perfect amount of force.

Of course, it didn't help that she knew she'd been spending a lot of time with Henry, allowing her time with Rodney to suffer for it. She powered down the tablet and placed it on the couch. She turned her head so that she could see him, but she only managed to catch a glimpse of his back as he walked through the door.

Jennifer spun around and watched the door close. "Rodney?"

She rushed to the door, opened it and leaned out into the corridor, turning left to peer down the corridor and then doing the same to the right. There was no sign of Rodney.

Perplexed she walked back into her quarters and her attention was drawn to a flickering light coming from the kitchen. Her brow creased as she walked towards the kitchen, and when she saw what the source of the light was she gasped and felt ill.

On the small table were two place settings, separated by an arrangement of her favorite flowers and three candles. Her mind began to shut down as she collapsed into the nearest chair. "Oh Rodney."

A/N: "I Don't Wanna Fight" was written by Lulu, Billy Lawrie and Steve DuBerry. It was recorded by the ageless and incredible Tina Turner for the soundtrack of her 1993 biopic, _What's Love Got To Do With It._


	14. Andy Kim

I know this is going to really miff some people off (can you say Dani and Ice?), and all I can say is I'm sorry and bear with me. It will get better. I promise. 500 words.

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><p>"Oh, Rodney," repeated Jennifer in a moan so pitiful it made the already considerable churning in her stomach intensify.<p>

Her eyes slowly lifted so she could take in the scene before her again. _How did he get the lilies?_ she asked herself as she reached over and let her finger feather along the outside edge of one of the flowers. Her eyes moved over to the candles, which had been lit some time ago if the build up of wax at their bases was any indication. She looked around and could find no evidence of food. _To be delivered from the Mess, no doubt,_ she realized.

Her body, apparently in tune with what needed to be done before her brain, moved with haste towards the door. She had a good idea where Rodney would be, and she felt a small measure of pride in the fact that she was probably the only person who could find him when he didn't want to be found.

She broke into a light jog in the corridor, slowing down only when she reached the door that led to the stairs. She moved up the stairs two at a time- one flight, then a second flight, then a third and finally a fourth. By the time she reached the door to the correct level her heart was thumping madly within her chest and her breaths were shallow and quick.

She moved swiftly down the corridor to an unremarkable nook in the wall that looked like any number of others that could be found in most of the corridors of Atlantis. Only this nook was quite remarkable as it perfectly hid a balcony from the prying eyes of people in the corridor. Rodney had found it months earlier and had told her about it so it could be their own special place.

She turned side on and slipped in between the bulk heads. The door slid open and she shimmied through. The door closed behind her yet she didn't notice anything but Rodney with his arms resting on the rail and his head hanging low.

"Rodney?" she called out softly. For all the movement he made he could have been a statue. She moved up to stand beside him and after a moment she put her right hand on his shoulder.

"I think we should stop," he said without looking at her. "Take a break or see other people or whatever the terminology is these days."

Jennifer's hand dropped from his shoulder not out of a desire to do so, but from the shock of what he was saying. "Rodney…"

He turned away from her and took a step back, maintaining a distance that seemed as wide to her as the Grand Canyon and not the three feet it actually was.

"I'll get my stuff from your room tomorrow..."

"Rodney," she interrupted forcefully. "I love you."

Rodney fell silent. Half a minute passed and Jennifer shook her head and thought, _How'd we ever get this way?_

A/N: "How'd We Ever Get This Way" was written and released by Andy Kim in 1968.


	15. Tina Turner II

499 words. This is part three of what is now a four part story arc. The next one will end it and then I'll be back to my normal, semi-romantic, go-lucky self.

I hope.

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><p>Jennifer hesitated and she could feel the panic emanate from her heart which had flash frozen in mid-beat. "Rodney?" she whispered as she edged closer to him. She licked her parched lips and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. "Rodney, I love you."<p>

"What's love got to do with it?" Rodney asked with a soft chortle that was neither humorous nor genuine. His eyes moved about her face as though he were memorizing every detail, and when his eyes settled on hers she knew her world was about to come crashing down around her ears.

"When we started," he motioned back and forth between them a couple of times, "us, we knew I wasn't very good at this." He hesitated for a second, but before Jennifer could take advantage of it he refocused and said, "And I tried, Jennifer, but I, I don't know, I'm too set in my ways I guess and… well, I really thought I could make you happy but…"

"You **do** make me happy, Rodney!" she exclaimed, her desperation making her voice louder then she'd meant to. She reached over and took his hands in hers and took in a quick breath. When she spoke it was a miracle it didn't come out as a sob. "You do make me happy."

Rodney sadly shook his head. "Maybe I did at first," he said with a warm smile full of happy reminiscence. "But not lately and we both know it. I keep getting caught up with work and," his hands gently flexed around hers and he looked down to avoid her eyes, "ignoring you."

"Rodney," Jennifer said in a firm voice. "Please don't do this."

"Have you been happy lately?" asked Rodney as he looked up into her eyes. Before Jennifer could give him an answer him he said, "Just think about it for a second. How many times in the last, I don't know, the last week, have you really laughed at something?"

"Rodney that's not the point," she argued, and to her surprise he nodded his head.

"You're right," he said and then he gave her a smile that nearly glowed with pride, "as usual. Alright, fine. Let me ask you this: how many times in the last week have you felt so mad and frustrated that you thought you could rip your hair out?"

Realization at what he was saying hit her like a Wraith stunner and tears filled her eyes. She'd felt as he'd described a few times lately, and the root cause of those episodes of anger and frustration had been Rodney.

Rodney released her hands and quietly said, "We can still be friends and, you know, work… together. Right?"

She couldn't talk. Or move. He waited a few moments for her to say something and a sad resignation fell over his face that sliced deep into her soul. All she could do was watch in agony as he turned and slowly walked away to leave her all alone.

a/N: "What's Love Got to Do with It" was written by Terry Britten and Graham Lyle and released by the awesome Tina Turner on her 1984 album _Private Dancer._


	16. Kalan Porter

865 words. Over the limit, but oh well.

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><p>Jennifer stumbled back until her back hit the balcony rail with a painful thump. She whirled around and gripped the rail with both hands as her head began spinning and her stomach threatened to let her revisit her dinner. Her eyes looked out over the water as her grip on the rail tightened. The rolling waves did nothing to ease her queasiness so she closed her eyes tight and bowed her head as waves of nausea washed over her. She fought against the tide and willed her legs not to buckle as her chest started heaving as she tried to breathe.<p>

But it was a losing battle.

She managed to open her eyes just long enough to let them roll back into her head as her knees buckled and her hands fell away from the rail.

The last thing she could remember was the sensation of falling backwards…

…and her eyes flew open as she sat up in her bed with a sharp gasp.

Her eyes flew about the room as she tried to discern what was happening and why she wasn't laying on her back on the balcony with her world in tatters.

_My room!_ she realized with a mixture of excitement and dread. _My bedroom!_

She looked at the clock on her nightstand: 0325.

_Rodney!_

She threw the comforter off her and jumped out of bed. It took her only a second to decide that getting dressed would waste too much time so she pulled on her robe and headed for the door, her slippers an afterthought that she dismissed as another waste of time.

The deck was cold on her feet, but the fact that she ran through the corridors making contact with the floor minimal helped. After what seemed like an eternity she found herself at Rodney's door. More often than not they spent the night together in her quarters, but their schedules had been so messed up lately Rodney had decided- for her sake and convenience- to sleep in his own room. She tried the door chime three times before pounding on it twice with the bottom part of her fist, her anxiety concealing the knowledge in her brain that she knew the access code to Rodney's room. She was about to do it again when the door slid open to reveal a groggy and irate looking Rodney.

"What the hell…" he started to exclaim, but when he saw who was interrupting his beauty sleep he said, "Jennifer?" He blinked and his eyes seem to focus more intently upon her as he asked, "Jennifer what's wrong?"

Jennifer stepped forward and hugged Rodney tightly around his waist, cuddling her face against his chest as she did so. The movement forced Rodney to take a step back allowing the door to close. His arms wrapped protectively around her shoulders as she spoke.

"A dream. It was almost like I was awake in a dream," she whispered against his chest. "It was…" she looked up into his eyes, "…it was so real."

Jennifer searched Rodney's eyes, looking for any hints of the pain and resignation she still vividly remembered seeing in that dream. She felt a sense of normalcy when she saw nothing but love and concern, like this was how it was supposed to be.

"I love you," Jennifer said in a soft and hopeful whisper. She didn't think her nervousness came through, but when Rodney's head tilted just so to the left she knew he'd picked up on something: just like a man who knew her would; just a man who loved her would; and just as a man who would do anything to make her happy would.

"I love you too," Rodney replied as his brow creased. He was about to say more but his right hand quickly moved up to cover his mouth as a yawn forced itself upon him.

"You're tired," Jennifer said as her right hand cupped his cheek. She mentally chided herself for being so affected by a dream that she would disturb the man she loved at such a late hour. "I'm… I'm sorry for waking you." She leaned forward and upward to give him a quick kiss. "I'll see you in the morning."

She turned to go but only made it halfway because Rodney had taken a hold of her left hand.

Rodney didn't say a word as he moved towards his bed while keeping his grip on her hand, forcing her to move along with him. He kept silent as he reached over and undid the belt of her robe, then slid the robe off her shoulders so that it fell to the floor.

Jennifer gave Rodney a smile and at his prodding sat on the bed before lifting her legs up onto the bed and sliding them underneath the covers. A moment later she was underneath the blankets, cuddled into Rodney with his arm encircling her in a loving—and reassuring- embrace.

Rodney tightened his hug for a second and Jennifer smiled as sleep quickly crept in over her. As she surrendered to the encroaching darkness, her final thoughts were about Rodney and how, no matter what, he **always** made her happy.

A/N: "Awake in a Dream" was written by Rupert Gayle, Adam Alexander and Chris Perry and released by Kalan Porter in 2004.


	17. Great Big Sea

Turnabout is fair play. 500 words.

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><p>"What?"<p>

Carson sighed. "If you'd stay still and listen for a minute you'd hear me."

Rodney stopped trying to get around the two orderlies that Carson had ordered to keep him away and glared at Carson.

"That's better," Carson announced with a nod. When Rodney remained still and relatively attentive for thirty seconds Carson continued. "It appears that the apple of your eye had a wee bit too much to drink," said Carson, amusement tempered with concern lacing his Scottish brogue. "In fact, she got way too drunk. I didn't get the whole story, but it looks like someone had the idea of playing the alphabet game using the names of men on Atlantis." Carson raised his right eyebrow at Rodney and added, "She kept repeating your name and had to take a drink every time she did."

Rodney gave his head a gentle shake in disbelief. "Where the hell did she get that much alcohol?" he demanded harshly.

Carson folded his arms across his chest and gave Rodney a wry smile "This coming from a man who got trolleyed and ended up sleeping, more or less, with two other men in the same bed."

Rodney started sputtering at Carson's erroneous description of the facts, but clamped his lips together when Carson held up a warning finger.

"Anyway, it seems as though Radek isn't the only one who knows how to build a still." Carson nodded as realization dawned on Rodney's face. "Apparently, someone has a still in operation that produces a rum that has quite a kick to it."

"Rum?" asked Rodney as he looked past Carson's shoulder to the sleeping form of his fiancé.

"Aye. A dark rum," Carson informed Rodney. "Apparently the person spent some time in the Caribbean and developed a fondness for black rum." Carson gave Rodney a smirk. "It seems Jennifer likes it as well."

Rodney stared at Jennifer and stayed eerily still for a moment.

Carson watched and waited. Rodney's silence and lack of movement was a testament to how much he loved and cared for Jennifer.

"She'll be okay?" asked Rodney, his voice barely above a whisper.

Carson gave Rodney a sympathetic smile as he moved to stand next to his friend. "Aye, she'll be back to her beautiful happy self in a few hours. I'd wager she'll have a bit of a headache at least, but she'll be fine." He nodded to the orderlies who stepped aside and then prodded Rodney towards Jennifer. "Go on, but if you wake her I'll beat you with my bagpipes."

Carson smiled as Rodney sat down next to Jennifer and took her hand in his. Satisfied with that situation he turned around and came face to face with Allison Porter and he could easily see the telltale signs of a severe hangover in woman he'd become fond of.

"Let me guess," he whispered as he put his arm around her shoulder and led her towards one of the beds, "the old black rum strikes again?"

A/N: "The Old Black Rum" was written by Bob Hallett of the band Great Big Sea and released by GBS on their 1995 album _Up._


	18. Bob Seger

499 words. Set during 'Trio'. I'm getting there Ice.

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><p>"How are your hands?" asked Jennifer as she leaned forward and maneuvered her head so that she could get the end of the straw in her mouth. The staff of the Mess had gone above and beyond in setting her and Rodney up for the evening: they'd led her and Rodney to a table near the balcony doors close enough to the 'bar', such as it was, if they needed anything but far enough away that they could have some privacy, and just as they'd gotten comfortable their drinks arrived, already opened and poured into glasses complete with bendable straws.<p>

Rodney raised his hands in front of him and gently flexed them. "They're still pretty numb actually," he replied as he placed his hands on the table. "That stuff should be part of the standard survival kit for anyone who goes off world with Sheppard."

Jennifer snorted and raised her bandaged right hand to her mouth to help keep the drink she'd just taken from spraying out onto the table. When she was finally able to swallow the liquid she gave Rodney the laugh she knew he was waiting for.

He smirked as her laugh died down and she had to admit he looked incredibly cute when he let loose a little.

A second later however, all traces of his smirk disappeared and his lips turned downward into a frown that was so pronounced it made Jennifer's stomach flip.

"What's wrong, Rodney?" she asked as she straightened up in her chair.

Rodney shrugged and said, "Nothing."

Jennifer leaned forward and reached over so that her bandaged hand covered his. "Rodney?" When he looked into her eyes she smiled and said, "Please."

Rodney looked unsure for a moment, but then he sighed and his eyes looked down to the table between them. "I never could make Katie laugh," he looked up as he nodded towards Jennifer and added, "at least not like that." Rodney shrugged and his eyes looked down to her hand resting upon his. "She'd always laugh, but I knew it was to be polite or because she thought I wanted her to laugh." He looked up to Jennifer again. "I really didn't mean to hurt her."

Jennifer nodded. She believed him with all her heart. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that Rodney McKay was incapable of deliberately hurting Katie… it just wasn't in him.

"She knows that, Rodney," Jennifer said as she rubbed his hand. "We've established that you're a nice guy. You can't help it if you two weren't… compatible."

At Rodney's dubious look Jennifer said, "You need to turn the page, Rodney." She leaned forward so that she was closer to him. "Don't let what happened ruin what could come along."

She wasn't sure what she expected, but when he leaned forward so that they were only inches apart her heart raced.

Rodney smiled and said as his free hand covered hers, "Maybe you're right."

Jennifer smiled again. "I know I am."

A/N: "Turn the Page" was written by Bob Seger and released by him on his 1973 album _Back in '72._


	19. Billy Idol

500 words. Part one of two, maybe.

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><p>Rodney looked at his watch for the fourth time since being imprisoned in the Mess and actually whimpered. Fortunately for him, the party was in full swing, complete with music loud enough that no one could hear him.<p>

The worst part of it was while he would much rather have been in the lab, he couldn't find it within himself to begrudge the festivities to anyone. It had been a trying time to be sure, with tempers flaring and nerves fraying.

His eyes moved up as a particularly shapely set of bare legs danced by. He couldn't help but follow them, and as they danced by in the other direction a small part of his intellect deduced that he was being teased. When the legs came to a stop before him and kept moving in place to the music he knew he was right.

Rodney's eyes fell to her toes peeking out of the open-toed white shoes, then slowly moved upward along the flawless skin of her shins and her smooth knees.

_Definitely a scientist,_ he surmised as his eyes kept moving upward. _Definitely not a grunt with those legs._

The lower edge of her thighs came into view, and Rodney kept slowly looking upward. He involuntarily gulped as his eyes hit the mid point of what were turning out to be nicely sculpted thighs and he sighed- though in relief or displeasure he couldn't tell- when the hem of a dress obstructed his view.

Rodney's eyes moved onward and upward over what turned out to be a white dress that covered a flat abdomen. The spaghetti strap dress also had a generous plunge in the neckline that showed more than an impressive amount of cleavage. Rodney was about to gulp again when he finally noticed the strawberry blond hair about her shoulders. An odd feeling developed in the pit of his stomach, the feeling he figured he'd get if he bit into a delicious juicy apple and found a worm inside.

When his eyes finally reached hers all he could say was, "You own a dress?" His eyes widened, lowered down and back up her body and he declared with great shock, "And you have legs!"

Laura put her hands on her hips and glared at Rodney, not that he was paying attention with his eyes moving up and down over her body like an adolescent teenager gawking at the pretty substitute teacher.

She didn't know what was worse: the fact that he was doing it, or the fact that she was enjoying it. Knowing she couldn't pass up the opportunity, she took his hand then pulled him out onto the dance floor.

"Come on, Rodney," she said as she gave her head a gentle flick so that her long locks left her shoulders. "I hate dancing with myself."

Rodney didn't realize what was happening until it was too late. "Cadman I…" He stopped when the music stopped and was replaced by the unmistakable beginning of a waltz. "Crap!"

A/N: "Dancing with Myself" was written by Billy Idol and Tony James for their band Generation X and released on their 1980 album _Kiss Me Deadly._ In 1981, Idol released it again as the version I know and listen to.


	20. Cascada

501 words. Thanks to theicemenace for her encouragement.

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><p>Rodney knew many things with absolute certainty: the speed of light in a vacuum was 299,792,458 meters per second; Pi was a transcendental number; Sheppard's hair would defy gravity and stick off in all directions with or without gel.<p>

More than all of that Rodney knew that if he was being teased before he was being tormented now.

He still hadn't figured out how it had happened. One second he was admiring the legs of Laura Cadman- an occurrence of epic proportions by itself- and the next second he was dancing a slow dance with said Marine, her smaller right hand nestled comfortably in his left and her left arm up around his shoulder. He tried very hard not to let his right hand venture too far onto her back lest he be tempted to let it drop too far downward and onto her…

Rodney gave himself a mental headshake in a desperate effort not to finish that thought- it was Cadman!- but his mind kept wanting to go to the naughty place, especially in light of the way that she was leaning against him.

It wasn't fair. She had all the weapons in this fight: beauty, curves, wit and more. All he had was, well, his brain, and it was kind of hard to use that at the moment with her chest pressed against his so intimately.

"You okay, McKay?" asked Cadman with an unmistakable hint of amusement in her voice.

There was something else in her voice too, almost like she was feeling the same affects of their proximity that he was.

"Fine," he managed with an appropriate amount of snark in his voice.

At least he thought it had been enough. He wasn't so certain about that when Laura cuddled her face against his shoulder.

Rodney closed his eyes as they swayed to the music. He didn't know the song, but he knew enough about music to know it was coming to an end. He was just starting to think about possible ways to extricate himself from the hot Marine in his arms when her left thumb caressed his sending his heart into a flutter that made him nearly gasp.

As it was, the sudden and intense feeling jolted his right hand, making it spasm a few inches lower on Laura's back than was technically acceptable for a dance. He expected her to comment: rudely or playfully in all likelihood. He also half expected her to glare at him, maybe even hit him… playfully he hoped. What he didn't expect was the shiver that ran through her body.

He stopped breathing for reasons he couldn't fathom and waited.

"You feel it too, don't you?" Laura looked up into his eyes. "Everytime we touch there's something there."

He wanted to deny it. He wanted to tell her she was delusional. He wanted to tell her she was an idiot.

But he couldn't.

He sighed and leaned over to kiss her, thinking just before his lips touched hers, _Every time._

A/N: "Everytime We Touch" (the version I have and listen to) was written by Maggie Reilly, Stuart MacKillop and Peter Risavy and released by Cascada as a single in Canada in 2005. It was originally released by Maggie Reilly on her 1992 album _Echoes_.


	21. Loverboy

508 words. A little sequel to theicemenace's Playlist Challenge chapter "Killer Queen" done with her permission.

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><p>Rodney shook his head and repeated what Sheppard had told him. "She's <em>summoned<em>," he stopped and gave Sheppard a look of incredulity and asked, "Summoned? Really?" When Sheppard nodded Rodney grunted in amusement and said, "She's _summoned_ me to her hive to repair her iPod." Rodney took a second, then gave Sheppard a suspicious look before returning his attention back to the project he'd been working on. "Tell her I'm a physicist, not a repairman."

Sheppard smirked and said, "Well actually you do…" Rodney gave him an icy glare and his smirk disappeared."According to Todd she's quite insistent."

Rodney looked up at Sheppard, and after so many years of being the brunt of Sheppard's antics he could tell the Colonel was serious. "Crap."

* * *

><p>"Wait here," ordered the Wraith that had escorted them through the hive to the Queen's chambers. "My Queen will be here soon."<p>

"Thanks, Jack," replied Sheppard.

The Wraith growled and flexed his right hand but simply turned around and left the team alone. When the door closed behind Jack, Rodney asked, "Why 'Jack'?"

Sheppard gave Rodney a half shrug. "He reminds me of Nicholson."

Rodney turned to stare at the door, and after a moment of thought he had to admit Sheppard had it right. "Yeah, okay."

Rodney turned and walked up to the throne. The iPod was sitting on the arm of throne so he picked it up and turned it on to find that it was fully charged. When he heard music blaring from one of the earphones he said, "Son of a…"

A door behind the throne opened and the Queen breezed through it. She spared Sheppard, Teyla and Ronon only a cursory glance before her yellow eyes settled on Rodney.

"There's nothing wrong with this!" grated Rodney loudly. "It's working fine."

The Queen ignored Rodney's little outburst and moved to sit in her throne. She settled into it and gave Rodney a look that neither he nor his teammates had ever seen on a Wraith Queen before.

"I am pleased to see you, McKay," she said with what passed as a smile for a Wraith. "I wish to thank you for your service. This… iPod… has given me a great deal of pleasure, more than I had thought possible."

"You dragged me all the way out here to say thanks?" said Rodney in a huff. "A call would have done it."

"I have called you here to give you a gift, McKay," said the Queen. "In… gratitude."

Rodney shot a glance at Sheppard, whose mouth was hanging open in shock.

"Okay," said Rodney warily, "what's this gift?"

The Queen smiled and leaned towards Rodney. "My affection."

* * *

><p>The Jumper veered right as a shot from the Hive whizzed by.<p>

Sheppard cursed as he righted the Jumper. "You could have at least let her down easy Rodney! She's the Queen of a Hive ship!"

"Well now she's the queen of the broken hearts!" Another blast from the Hive shot by the Jumper and Rodney added somewhat excitedly, "Now get us _out_ of here!"

A/N: "Queen of the Broken Hearts" was written by Mike Reno and Paul Dean of the group Loverboy and released on their 1983 album _Keep it Up._


	22. Billy Joel

500 words. Thanks to theicemenace for some thoughts and corrections.

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><p>"Do you love her?"<p>

"What?"

"**Do**. **You**. **Love**. **Her**?"

John sighed and tried to figure out how this conversation had even started. "It's not that simple, McKay."

Rodney grunted in unashamed amusement. "What is with you?"

They were sitting on the edge of the pier, their feet dangling over the side and partaking in what had become a ritualistic consumption of canned alcoholic beverages.

"Not that I'm complaining, by the way," said Rodney as he held up his can of beer, "where do you keep getting this?"

Sheppard smiled and shrugged. "You know a few years ago you asked me what the Better Entertainment and Extras Requisition was?"

Rodney nodded. "And every time we received a shipment from Earth there'd be a crate marked B.E.E.R…" Rodney's eyes bulged open for a split second."Son of a _bitch_."

Sheppard chuckled and took a swig of his beer. "You're welcome," he said with a smirk.

"Hmph," grunted Rodney. "So… do you love her or not?" Sheppard opened his mouth and Rodney quickly added, "And don't give me any of those Sheppard-esque avoidance sayings you no doubt have lined up." Rodney leaned an inch closer to John and gave him a glare that sent most people scurrying in the other direction. "Yes or no?"

Sheppard took a deep breath. He was about to admit something to Rodney that he hadn't even had the nerve to admit to himself. "Yes."

"Then tell her about it."

Rodney's blunt advice had Sheppard chuckling again. "This coming from a man who couldn't tell the woman he loved that he loved her until his mind was almost gone."

"You're right, Sheppard," said Rodney with a slow nod. "I almost waited too long." He brought the can of beer up again and said before taking another gulp, "Too bad you didn't learn from my mistake."

John's smirk evaporated as Rodney scored a direct hit. "It's just," he hesitated and then finished meekly, "complicated."

"Alright," said Rodney with a sigh, "if it _wasn't_ complicated, if there _were_ no issues… what if it was simple." Rodney raised an eyebrow and asked, "What would you say to her?"

John thought about it for a second, though he didn't know why. Besides the fact he shouldn't have been playing long, he knew exactly what he'd say given the chance. "I love you, Mandy, more than anything." He cleared his throat and glanced at Rodney before looking at the ocean. "Happy?"

Rodney grinned from ear to ear. "You have no idea."

John looked to Rodney. "What are you…"

"John?"

John's eyes widened as he turned to look behind him. Standing five feet away from him was Amanda and Jennifer, the former with a look of shock upon her face with the latter looking nearly giddy.

John scurried up off the edge of the pier and walked slowly towards Amanda trying to figure out what to say. As it was, she took that decision away from him when he reached her by saying, "I love you, too."

A/N: "Tell Her About it" was written by Billy Joel and released on his 1983 album _An Innocent Man._


	23. Cyndi Thomson

496 words and once again based n my 'McKay Plus Four' universe, particularly Ch. 3.

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><p>Jennifer summoned up whatever courage she could find within herself and looked up at her reflection. The eyes looking back at her were hollow and nearly lifeless, void of the vibrancy that she usually saw in them. Never before had she looked into the mirror and almost not recognize the face looking back at her.<p>

She sighed, and when the breath came out as a shaky whisper she morbidly wondered just how much courage she had left.

_None,_ she told herself.

It had been six weeks, three days, seven hours and twenty-one minutes since Rodney had walked into her quarters and discovered what she'd done; since he'd discovered her betrayal, as well as that of his teammate and brother-in-arms; since she'd destroyed the most important relationship she'd ever known; since she'd hurt the only man she ever truly loved.

Since that day he'd spoken to her only when necessary and addressing her only as 'Dr. Keller' or 'Doctor'. He hadn't called her 'Jennifer' once. Yet this morning, as she tried to keep her breakfast in her stomach he looked at her and, for the first time in six weeks, two days, twenty-three hours and forty-seven minutes, she saw the old Rodney. She'd wavered as the nausea hit and from nowhere his hand upon her arm had steadied her. There was compassion in his eyes and she could even see some love in them as they looked upon her, though it was a shadow of its former self.

Rodney's voice was hoarse with emotion as he'd whispered, "Are you okay?"

She'd been so shocked by his closeness and his compassion that all she could do was dumbly answer with, "I'm fine."

He'd nodded once and released her arm to go off and do whatever he'd been doing, work most likely.

Now she focused on the eyes before her once again and said, "What I really meant to say was…" She faltered. There had been so much she'd wanted to say: she'd wanted to tell him she was sorry; she'd wanted to beg forgiveness and ask for a chance to make things right between them. She still believed it was possible for them to salvage something, for _her_ to salvage something.

"What I really meant to say was," she sniffed back the tears that were threatening to fall- how she still had any left she'd never understand- and said, "I love you."

For a split second nothing happened, and then the eyes in the mirror seemed to take on a life of their own. They narrowed as if mocking her, and then the other features of her mirror image followed with her mouth forming a mocking grin and her head shaking in disbelief of her audacity.

Jennifer bowed her head as a wave of nausea washed over her again. It passed quickly and she headed to bed with a promise to get checked out in the morning and the hope that one day soon Rodney would be able to forgive her.

A/n: "What I Really Meant to Say" was written by Cyndi Thomson, Tommy Lee James, Chris Waters and released in 2001 by Thomson as a single. It's a nice song and it really is on one of my WMP playlists.


	24. Barenaked Ladies

497 words.

Now I have a bit of reading to do and then a couple of tags to write. ;)

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><p>Rodney looked at his inquisitor and gave him a scowl to be proud of. "What do you mean what would I do if I had $1,000,000?"<p>

Sheppard slowly shook his head before leaning forward to look out through the bars of their latest 'accommodations' to the cell across the hall. Teyla gave him a barely perceptible nod to tell him that she and Ronon were almost able to escape.

"It's a pretty simple question, McKay," said Sheppard as he leaned back against the wall. He looked over to Rodney sitting on the bench on the opposite side of the room. "If you had a million dollars, what would you do?"

Rodney rolled his eyes at Sheppard's playful patronization and folded his arms across his chest. "The same thing I'm doing now."

Sheppard quirked an eyebrow at Rodney and then let loose a short but unmistakably skeptical laugh. "Right, McKay. I you had a million dollars sitting in a bank account you'd be running around Pegasus getting shot at and jailed every other week."

"No," said Rodney slowly as though he were talking to a three year old. "I should be in my nice lab and getting ready to meet Jennifer for dinner." Rodney snorted in amusement and added, "The whole getting shot at and jailed thing is an occupational hazard brought upon me by my team leader."

Sheppard feigned indignation with wide eyes and by mouthing 'me' as he pointed to himself. "As I recall, Meredith, this was your fault."

"It most certainly was not my fault!" exclaimed Rodney loudly and with enough heat to almost melt the bars of the door.

Sheppard smirked, but he knew better than to rile Rodney up any more than he had in such tight quarters. "Okay, Rodney," said Sheppard, his voice soft and soothing, "it was my fault." Before Rodney could call him a liar John asked, "Would you really keep doing this if you had a million dollars?"

Rodney shrugged, though his eyes remained narrowed and cold. "I had three million when we found Atlantis," said Rodney.

Sheppard nearly fell off his bunk. He couldn't have heard right. No way. "You have three million dollars?" he asked, more than a little impressed he'd managed to keep the question from coming out as a squeak. "Really?"

Rodney tilted his head from left to right and then said, "Well, no not really."

"I didn't think so," replied Sheppard.

"Must be four million by now."

"What?"

Rodney shrugged again. He looked at Sheppard and finally noticed that the Colonel was about ready to have a stroke. "Well the latest interest period ended last week which should have put it over four million."

John shook his head and gasped, "How?"

Rodney gave his friend a little wave. "Hello? Math genius over here."

Just then the door opened and Teyla beckoned for them to follow. As they walked through the door Rodney whispered, "So what would you do with a million dollars?"

A/N: "If I Had $1,000,000" was written by Steven Page and Ed Robertson and released by their band Barenaked Ladies on their 1993 album _Gordon._


	25. Hot Chocolate

533 words. Little over, but worth it I hope.

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><p>Rodney powered down the Jumper and nodded to his co-pilot, Lt. Reardon, and then looked out the front window. The clearing he'd landed the Jumper in opened up right onto the white, sandy beach and was big enough to fit three Jumpers, though only two occupied it at the moment. Sheppard's Jumper sat off to starboard thirty feet away leaving a big enough area between them to set up the party area for later in the day. He looked up towards the blazing sun and could almost feel his skin burning already.<p>

"We'll see you on the beach, Dr. McKay," called Reardon's voice from the rear of the Jumper.

"Right," Rodney called back and a moment later the Lieutenant walked past the front of the Jumper holding the hand of one of Chuck's gate techs.

Rodney got up and walked through the Jumper, picking his classic Panama hat up off his duffle bag as he went. He put the hat on his head just as he walked out into the bright sun.

"Nice fashion statement, McKay," said Sheppard as he walked towards Rodney. His tone of voice left no doubt that he thought no such thing about his white cotton pants and multicolored Hawaiian shirt.

"Laugh it up, Colonel," Rodney shot back to Sheppard, who was wearing an unbuttoned, short sleeved white top with beige shorts. "When you burn don't come crying to me."

John obliged Rodney by laughing and then said, "Come on, Rodney… they're waiting for us."

They. Jennifer and Amanda. He and Sheppard could be in the most intense argument or in the middle of playing with their toys, but at the mention of one or both of the ladies everything stopped.

The two men nodded at each other and moved off towards the semi crowded beach. It had been Woolsey's idea, surprisingly, to have a beach day. And almost everyone was taking advantage.

Rodney and John walked onto the beach and looked around. Their eyes found Amanda first, who was helping to set up the beach volleyball net. John turned to Rodney, who simply nodded a 'See you later', and then moved off towards Amanda.

Rodney continued his search for Jennifer with his eyes moving up and down the beach. His eyes had just finished a third sweep when he felt a small and intimately familiar hand upon his right shoulder. He turned around and let loose a little groan that would have sounded like a noise of disgust to almost everyone else but was really a sound of appreciation. His team would have known better, of course, and so would the woman currently standing before him.

"It's so not fair," moaned Rodney.

The smile Jennifer had on her face disappeared in a heartbeat. "What?"

"I look like this," he said, and then he motioned towards her and said, "And you look like… your this… like you… sexy thing that should… with the stuff…"

Jennifer laughed at his babbling and then smirked as she held her arms out to her side and did a little twirl to show off her black boyshort with halter top bathing suit.

Rodney's shoulders slumped as he said with a sigh, "**SO** not fair."

A/N: "You Sexy Thing" was written by Errol Brown and released by the group Hot Chocolate as a single in 1975.


	26. Traveling Wilburys

534 words. Sue me. Lol

Now it gets tricky. This is a sequel to theicemenace's **Rodney and Significant Other FF Challenge**, chapter 37 'Go Away Little Girl'. That in turn was a sequel to chapter 4 of my fic, Within Temptation. So the reading order goes, Ch 4 of my fic, Ch 37 of theicemenace's, and then this chapter (26). Confused yet?

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><p>Jennifer looked around the small room, and her voice personified disappointment as she turned to Rodney and said, "It's... just a closet."<p>

Rodney folded his arms across his chest and gave Jennifer a wry smile. "And you were expecting what exactly?"

Jennifer threw her arms up in the air. "I don't know!" she exclaimed, exasperation filling her voice. She couldn't believe she'd gotten herself worked into such a tizzy over an empty closet. "I don't know," she repeated. "A birthday gift?"

Rodney's brow creased. "Your birthday is ten months away," he said slowly, as though he were afraid he'd somehow managed to screw that up.

Jennifer chewed on her bottom lip and glanced around the empty room again. Oblivious to Rodney's sigh of relief she said, "Halloween present?" When Rodney didn't answer she kept going. "Thanksgiving? Christmas? Valentine's Day?"

Rodney gave her that little smile he gave her whenever she'd done or said something that he'd found adorable. "It's all about you, isn't it?"

Jennifer had the good grace to give Rodney an embarrassed smile. "Well yeah."

Rodney nodded and then stepped forward and put his left arm around her shoulders. He drew her close to him and said, "You know I love you, right?" Jennifer nodded and Rodney smiled. "Then please don't hurt me when I say, are you crazy?" Rodney's free hand motioned around the closet. "This is the end of the line. There's nothing in here."

Jennifer's cheeks started to burn. He was right. "Then what was the big secret? What was John talking about?"

Rodney's snort of amusement echoed briefly in the tiny room. "With Sheppard who knows?"

Her curiosity appeased and feeling more than a little humiliated, she stepped out of Rodney's embrace and turned to go. As it so happened, stepping away from Rodney brought her closer to the inside wall where she heard a sound. It wasn't much, just barely enough to get her attention. Instead of moving towards the door she stepped closer to the wall and leaned so that her right ear was only inches from it.

"What was that?"

Rodney's eyes widened in alarm. "What was what? I didn't hear anything."

Jennifer's hands went up onto the wall to support her as she leaned even closer to it. "There's a noise behind this wall."

Rodney quickly stepped forward and took Jennifer's left arm in his hand. As he gently guided her away from the wall he said, "Probably some plumbing or something." He released her and walked to the door. When it opened he said as he turned back to Jennifer, "We should get going to the Mess. They're… serving… your… favorite…"

Jennifer stood where he'd left her, her arms folded across her chest, her left hip edged back and her right foot tapping the deck impatiently.

For the second time in ten minutes Rodney's shoulders slumped and Jennifer couldn't help but smirk.

It took another minute for Rodney to completely relent, but sure enough he moved to the wall. Jennifer followed his movement and edged forward when Rodney reached over to the far left hand corner and did… something.

Jennifer's mouth fell open and her eyes widened as the wall began to move…

A/N: I'd like to say that at this moment the theicemenace is calling me all sorts of names as only a Southern Belle can, but I can't because somehow we've found ourselves in this together!

"End of the Line" was written by the Traveling Wiburys and released on their 1988 album _Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1._


	27. The Trews

496 words.

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><p>Rodney watched as they brought the body of Lieutenant Radcliffe through the shimmering event horizon. He'd never met the young American officer, but from everything he'd heard in the last half an hour he was a fine young man: bright, caring, energetic and brave, everything you needed to be to willfully travel to other planets and be willing to give your life to save others.<p>

And that's what he'd done. He and his team had stopped the massacre of a people on a far off planet. The only cost had been his life.

Rodney looked to his left where the woman who'd managed to fall in love with him watched the scene in the gate room. She hadn't known Radcliffe either, at least not outside the realm of doctor and patient, yet her brown eyes held a sadness in them that he'd seen far too often.

The gate shut down and Jennifer turned to give Rodney a quick kiss on his left cheek. Nothing needed to be said as she left. She had to go and do the exam, write the report and supervise the preparation of the body for transport back to Earth. They were all things she shouldn't have to do, but as the CMO of an international expedition it was her duty… her job.

"What happens now, sir?"

Rodney's eyes flickered to his right to catch a glimpse of one of the newer gate techs looking eagerly to Chuck. She didn't even look old enough to drive let alone be in another galaxy.

Chuck sighed, and when he spoke his voice held none of its usual cheerfulness. "They take the body out of the gate room, down the corridor and into the transporter. They exit the transporter and head for the Infirmary, where they go in through the secondary entrance and not the main one."

The tech looked confused. "There's another way into the Infirmary."

Chuck nodded, though he kept looking at the gate. "It goes directly to the morgue. Dr. Keller and her people do an autopsy and then the body is placed in a casket until we dial Earth. Pallbearers carry the casket back along the same route and through the gate." Chuck sighed again and glanced to Rodney. "Our own little Highway of Heroes."

"What's that, sir?"

Chuck smiled. It was the type of smile that showed you were proud of something that came from something terrible. "It's a section of highway fallen Canadian soldiers are carried along after arriving back in the country. They come into CFB Trenton and travel to the coroner's office in Toronto in a motorcade. People line the highway and bridges with flags and signs to show their appreciation for their sacrifice and their support for their families."

"That's amazing."

"Yes it is," said Chuck softly.

Rodney nodded to Chuck and then walked towards the exit. He needed to be ready to be there for Jennifer. She always took the death of a hero hard.

A/N: "Highway of Heroes" was written and released by the group The Trews in February of 2011. Watch the video on YouTube. Worth it.


	28. Peter Gabriel

499 words. Part one of two.

I hope you enjoy this, because it may be my last after Dani tears a strip off my hide for doing this and not her tag. What can I say…my muse works in mysterious ways. Love you Sis. :)

Don't own SGA or any of its characters. Smurf it.

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><p>Jennifer Keller was pissed, and even if she'd wanted to she couldn't hide it.<p>

Her staff was keenly aware of their boss' current mental state, each one of them cautiously doing their work as she maintained her vigil in the doorframe of her office, her eyes piercing and arms crossly folded across her chest. It wasn't where she wanted to be. She wanted to be at the bed directly across from her office where Amanda was currently treating the cause of her current fury.

This was the third time in as many weeks that Rodney had come to the Infirmary with an injury. Three weeks ago it had been a bump to the back of his head that he'd received during a sparring session with Teyla. Two weeks ago it had been a bloody nose after a run in with Ronon's elbow during a self defense class. And today, well she hadn't had the chance to find out what had happened because Sandy, brilliant nurse and incredible friend that she was, sensed Jennifer's mood and immediately sequestered her in her office while she called Amanda to treat Rodney.

Jennifer's head sharply turned to her left as John came into the Infirmary. His eyes found Rodney and he immediately made for his friend. Jennifer glared at the Colonel when he looked at her and he quickly looked away.

John and Amanda spoke in hushed tones for nearly a minute. When they stopped John took a deep breath and adopted the air of a man about to do something he really didn't want to do as he turned and walked the few feet to stand before her.

He stood there for a few seconds avoiding her eyes, but eventually he looked up and their gazes locked. "He has a black eye," Sheppard softly informed her. "We were doing some self defense drills and he zigged when he should have zagged." He gave her a lopsided smile and shrug. "Typical McKay." The smile disappeared and he cleared his throat. "He'll be fine."

Jennifer didn't respond and looked past John shoulder to Amanda's back. So far she'd only managed to catch fleeting glimpses of Rodney, and even with those brief looks his eye looked as though it had been hit with a sledgehammer.

"This is the third time he's managed to get himself beaten up lately," she said softly, her voice little more than a fear filled whisper. She looked into John's concerned eyes and silently begged him to tell her why.

John admirably resisted Jennifer's unspoken plea until her eyes became moist and tears threatened to spill onto her round cheeks. "He just wants to be able to defend himself."

There was something in the way John's eyes avoided hers for a split second. There was more to it and the way that John sighed told her that he knew that she knew that.

Finally John said, "He wants to be able to defend himself," he sighed before adding, "and protect you."

A/N: "Sledgehammer" was written by Peter Gabriel and released by him on his 1986 album _So._


	29. Remy Zero

Somewhere in the continental Untied States, Dani is screaming at me. She may be initiating murderous plots against me as we speak, so if I'm not heard from within a month, someone notify the authorities! LOL

Don't own SGA or its characters. A little over the limit… okay 151 words over the limit. Sue me.

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><p>"Protect me?" asked Jennifer as she slumped against the doorframe of her office. Her eyes caught Rodney's but before she knew it Amanda stepped in between them and the moment was lost.<p>

"Yeah," replied Sheppard as his right hand wearily raked through his hair. His arm fell to his side and his hands made their way into his pockets. "He wants to be able to protect you," his hands moved from his pockets up into the space between to make air quotes as he said, "like a man should." The way he roughly jammed his hands down into his pockets again showed just how much he disagreed with Rodney's reasoning.

Jennifer closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them as she pushed herself off the doorframe. "Thank you, John," she whispered as she stepped past him, her eyes focused clearly on Rodney now that the Colonel and Amanda were out of the way.

Rodney sat up on the edge of the bed and looked up as she walked towards him. There was a look of relief in his blue eyes and the barest hint of a smile on his lips, both of which disappeared almost in a flash.

Jennifer stopped just in front of Rodney and before she knew what she was doing her left hand reached over and carefully touched Rodney's cheek just below his slightly swollen and bruised eye. She studied the area for a moment, her medical mind deducing what Amanda was no doubt putting in his medical file at that very moment- he'd be fine.

Jennifer's hand cupped his cheek and she edged herself forward another few inches so that she was as close to him as she could be without actually getting onto his lap. "Rodney," she whispered as her eyes looked into his and her thumb caressed his cheek, "what are you doing?" She shook her head as her right hand reached over and held his left. "Why are you doing this?"

Rodney shrugged and his eyes looked down to where her hand covered his. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

The corners of Jennifer's mouth turned down to form a slight frown. "Rodney, look at me." When he didn't move after a few seconds she whispered, "Please." It took several more seconds but Rodney's eyes slowly roamed upward until she could see them. "Why?"

Rodney's Adam's apple bobbed furiously for a few seconds, but in the end he simply sighed. "I love you."

Jennifer nodded as she said, "I know that, Rodney."

"And I don't want anything to happen to you." Rodney's eyes looked back down to their hands. He turned his hand so that their fingers could interlace. "And if something did because I couldn't…"

He stopped when Jennifer's thumb jumped from his cheek onto his lips. She loved him dearly and part of her wanted to shout it at him. Part of her wanted to jump onto his lap and prove it to him. In the end she sighed and said, "Whenever I'm in trouble I know two things." She glanced around to make sure no one was listening, then leaned in closer to Rodney so that she could whisper into his right ear, "One, I need to try to keep calm until help comes." She slid her thumb off his lips and added, "And two, I know that _**no matter the situation**_," she leaned back so that she could look into his eyes, "you'll be there to save me. Because no matter what, I know you'll do everything you can and that's a lot better than most people got." She smiled as Rodney's face brightened a little, then she let him in on another fact. "And three, I love you."

Rodney smirked. "I thought you said there were two things."

Jennifer smiled as she leaned in towards him. "Sue me," she said before her lips touched his.

A/N: "Save Me" was written by the group Remy Zero and released on their 2001 album _The Golden Hum_. It is, of course, immensely popular as the theme song for the tv show 'Smallville'.


	30. Bruno Mars

612 words. Sorry. theicemenace gave me permission to go over. lol

Don't own SGA or its characters. This little snippet takes place after the events in the SGU episode _Seizure_.

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><p>"What's this?"<p>

Jennifer stopped walking so quickly that she almost stumbled. She looked up at the source of the question and said, "Hello to you too, Rodney."

"Ha ha," said Rodney with absolutely no humor in his voice as he quickly advanced towards her. He handed her the tablet he had in his hands as he passed in front of her and kept walking to the other side of her room. He stopped by her desk and folded his arms across his chest with a deep scowl on his face.

She looked down at the tablet and grimaced. Her stomach heaved at the realization that Rodney had found what he'd found, but it was quickly quashed and replaced by anger. She looked up at him and gave him a glare worthy of song. "How dare you snoop into my private business?"

The angry scowl remained firmly entrenched upon Rodney's face, and the fact that he said nothing and only glared right back at Jennifer dampened her own anger. It was never a good sign when Rodney was pissed and wouldn't talk. She'd rather have him yelling at her than saying nothing.

Still…

"It's none of your business, Rodney."

She knew it was a mistake as soon as her lips formed the first syllable, and that knowledge was confirmed by the blank look that replaced the anger on Rodney's face.

"Well," he said more softly than most people would have thought possible from him, "I thought caring about you entitled me to worrying about you and all that."

"Rodney…"

"I'm sorry," he said as he walked towards her. He stopped next to her and pointed to what was on the tablet. "Good luck with that."

He started towards the door and Jennifer closed her eyes as she said, "I heard you talking to John."

Jennifer took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She turned and found Rodney's face a healthy shade of red as he grasped the meaning of what she'd said. "I heard you tell him about seeing Lt. James and her… assets aboard _Destiny_."

Before she knew it Rodney had rushed to her and grabbed her upper arms causing her to drop the tablet to the floor.

"You're thinking about getting breast implants because I'm a sexist male?"

Jennifer's eyes widened in surprise and she couldn't help but notice the panic in Rodney's eyes.

"Jennifer, you're beautiful in every way!" he said, his voice holding an element of desperation to it that told Jennifer he meant every word. "I wouldn't change anything about you! You're perfect just the way you are!"

"But…"

"No buts," interrupted Rodney as his hands tightened around her arms. "What I said to Sheppard was… it was stupid and just me falling victim to a millennia old instinct in all men." Jennifer was about to say something but Rodney added, "And if I followed your lead I'd have to go and get some steroids so I could look like that Marine you and Cole were talking about last week."

Jennifer's cheeks exploded with embarrassment as she recalled her and Amanda nearly drooling over the rock hard abs and bulging muscles of Lt. Granger.

"Jennifer, I love," he gave a very quick glance down to her chest and then focused on her eyes, "them **and** everything that's attached to them." His fingers loosened around her arms and gave her a Rodney-esque smile. "I love **you**."

Jennifer's hands moved up onto Rodney's waist and she smiled as she said, "You better be careful, Dr. McKay." She drew him into a hug and cuddled her face into the side of his neck. "You're getting **very** good at this stuff."

A/N: "Just the Way You Are" was written by Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Khalil Walton and Khari Cain. It was released in July of 2010 as the first single from Mars' album _Doo-Wops & Hooligans._


	31. Zappacosta

581 words. A million thanks to theicemenace for letting me borrow her incredible creation, Dr. Charlotte Atherton, for this fic, and it's with her blessing that I bestow this chapter upon you all. This is a moment set during the final chapter of Ice's 'The Healing Touch'. More of an addition or alternate thingy I suppose.

Oh, and I don't own SGA or any of it's characters either.

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><p>Rodney knew the touch was coming before her skin feathered along his despite the fact that he'd had his eyes closed. He opened his eyes as Charlie's fingers closed around his and a smile, a true one that came on the expressway from his soul, formed on his lips.<p>

"You okay, sugar?" she asked in that accent that Rodney loved so dearly.

He nodded and gave a quick glance around the reception hall. It was beautifully decorated and the lights had been dimmed several minutes earlier for Evan and Jennifer's first dance as husband and wife. The happy couple was now on the opposite side of the massive room engaging in what appeared to be small talk with people Rodney didn't know.

He'd gone quiet as their dance had commenced, as had everyone else in the room. Unlike everyone else, however, he hadn't been focused on the newlyweds as they'd danced. His mind had wandered to the unsolved power ratio dilemma currently plaguing the chair room of Atlantis. Thinking about it now though, anyone who'd noticed his distraction probably would have erroneously assumed that he'd been reminiscing about Jennifer or something of the sort, and as he looked into the green eyes of the woman he loved he wondered if she thought the same.

Before he could comment, Charlie quirked her perfectly shaped right eyebrow at him and said in a mock scolding drawl, "You're thinkin' about those blessed power ratios, aren't ya, darlin'?"

Rodney nodded, relieved and a little angry at himself for forgetting just how well Charlie had come to know him and just how well she could read him. She had touched parts of him that no one else had managed to touch. She'd seen parts of him that no one else had managed to see. She was… she was just incredible.

"Bless your heart, Rodney McKay," she said as she playfully tapped his hand before resting hers upon it again, "if you don't relax I'm just gonna have to employ some of that Southern charm that you can't seem to resist."

Rodney snorted in amusement. "Like you've been doing since the moment we met?"

There was a sparkle in her emerald gaze that matched the smile playing at her lips. "You know it, darlin'."

Rodney smiled again, or was still smiling, he couldn't tell. "I think it's time to go."

Charlie looked as though she were going to argue the point, but when Rodney turned his hand underneath hers so that they were palm to palm and then began gently squeezing her hand, she daintily cleared her throat. Her voice was playful and only minimally strained as she said, "How can I resist that Canadian charm you use so," she gasped slightly as his thumb massaged the side of her hand and said, "expertly?"

Rodney smirked as he got up out of his chair. "You can't."

Rodney helped Charlie up out of her seat and smiled when Rodney drew her close to him. "That's a fact, sugar." She waited several seconds for Rodney to release her. "You have to let go, Rodney."

Rodney stared straight into the seas of green that were her eyes. "I can't let go."

Charlie smiled warmly and said, "You have to, sugar." She leaned in closer and said, "Because what I want to happen next needs to happen in private."

A moment later all eyes turned towards the exit where an unmistakably female squeal of surprise had come from.

They saw nothing.

A/N: "Can't Let Go" was written by Alfie Zappacosta and released on his 1984 album _Zappacosta._


	32. CCR

572 words. I'm using Rodney and Jennifer's secret balcony that I've used somewhere else. :)

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><p>Jennifer stood on her and Rodney's secret balcony and looked out into the dark gray sky. It had been pouring monstrous rain drops from thick, slow moving clouds non-stop for two days.<p>

And it was grotesquely hot. And humid. It was so hot that the rain was almost warm and going out into it was like stepping into a lukewarm shower.

To add to the malaise the weather had been causing her, Rodney had all but locked himself in his lab from the moment the rain had started.

She'd always noticed that Rodney became a little… anxious… whenever it rained. He didn't let it show much, just little looks of worry or little flinches, but she'd always noticed. At first it was because she was a doctor and always observing people and their reactions to make sure they were really feeling as well as they claimed to be. Eventually it became more. She noticed because she cared for him.

She'd always meant to ask him about it, but the instances were always fleeting and something always seemed to come up. Not this morning. When she'd awoken to find no sign of Rodney, she'd sought him out to ask him what was going on. He was in the middle of something important, so she'd went to find the one other person she was certain would have the answer: John.

He'd been reluctant to tell her, but he'd eventually caved and told her about the Genii and how they'd nearly taken over Atlantis. And he'd told her about the way Rodney had been tortured and how Kolya'd held Rodney and Dr. Weir captive on a balcony in the middle of a monsoon, threatening to kill them unless Rodney fixed the grounding station.

After processing what Sheppard had told her, she'd gone to find Rodney and forced him to promise to meet her on their balcony. She looked down to her watch and felt a bubble of dread pop in her stomach. He was late.

As if on cue the door opened and she turned to face it. She watched as Rodney appeared and their eyes met.

"Hey there," she said after a moment.

"Hey," Rodney replied after a moment.

She couldn't help but notice how his eyes glanced out onto the outer edge of the balcony where the rain was soaking the deck.

"Have you ever seen the rain fall so hard?" she asked as she walked towards him. He nodded and she took his hand in hers. "John told me about the Genii."

Rodney nodded again, though he never took his eyes off the continuing deluge.

"Do you trust me?"

Rodney looked into her eyes and said with a sure and confident voice, "Absolutely."

"My father always told me," she said as she led him out into the rain, "that the best way to erase a bad memory," she turned to him and started gently pulling his shirt out of his pants, "is to make a new, better memory."

Jennifer pulled the now soaked shirt up over Rodney's head, and when she tossed it onto the deck she could see him shake of his shock. "Jennifer…"

Jennifer quickly leaned forward and kissed him, her hands moving onto his bare, wet shoulders. After a moment she stopped the kiss and leaned back. She reached down to start unbuckling his belt as the warm rain showered them and whispered, "Trust me," before kissing him again.

A:N/ "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" was written by John Fogerty and released by Creedence Clearwater Revival on their 1970 album _Pendulum._


	33. ABBA

556 words. A sequel to chapter 18. Don't own SGA or its characters. They belong to MGM.

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><p>Jennifer frowned as Rodney quickly leaned back and withdrew his hand from underneath hers as one of the staff approached their table. His hand leaving hers made her feel as though the temperature in the room dropped by ten degrees.<p>

"Can I get you folks anything else?" asked Private Stiles with a smile on her round face.

"I'm fine, thank you," replied Jennifer. She looked to Rodney and when she caught his eye he looked up to Stiles and replied with a shake of his head. Jennifer looked back to Stiles and said, "Thank you, Pat."

"My pleasure, ma'am," came the jovial reply. "If either of you need anything, just let us know."

Jennifer nodded and then watched the young Private retreat into the bowels of the Mess before turning her attention back to Rodney.

He was looking at just about everything he could except her and it annoyed her. They'd just shared a moment and now he was trying to ignore it. She thought back to another moment she'd had with another man not that long ago. Her near kiss with Ronon had been constantly on her mind for days after the quarantine incident, but the fact that they had barely spoken a word and he'd shown zero interest since then told her she'd possibly read more into it than was actually there.

She tried to smile as his eyes found hers, but he'd looked away before the corners of her lips could even begin to move upward.

Jennifer sighed and thought about the two men. They were polar opposites in almost every way imaginable. Ronon was a man of few words while Rodney was always talking about something. Ronon was in tremendous physical shape yet Rodney wasn't in peak physical condition. Ronon was a soldier and Rodney was a scientist. Ronon was smart, but Rodney was a genius. Ronon was nothing like her, but Rodney…

"We're a lot alike," she said as she leaned forward and captured the straw in her drink with her mouth. She looked up at Rodney as she sipped her drink and nearly laughed at the look of utter disbelief on his face, but the urge to laugh vanished as Rodney looked down to his drink and frowned. Jennifer pushed the straw from her mouth with her tongue and sat back in her chair.

"You mean that don't you?" he asked without looking up. "That we're alike."

"Yes."

Rodney mumbled something as he reached for his drink, his face an odd mixture of anger and dejection. Jennifer didn't completely catch what he'd said, but she did manage to recognize the word 'opposites'. She decided to take a gamble.

"I don't think 'opposites attract' is always true," she said and held her breath. She slowly released it a moment later when Rodney's wide-eyes confirmed that she'd been right about what he'd said. "And if you do I'd could argue we're different in some ways, too."

For some reason that seemed to relax Rodney, and not for the first time she thought that Rodney McKay was a very complex man. Patience was definitely the name of the game for her if she was going to pursue a relationship with him.

A shy and completely adorable smile from Rodney made her heart flutter. Luckily for her, patience was something she had in spades.

A/N: "The Name of the Game" was written by Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Stig Anderson and released by the group ABBA on their 1977 album _ABBA:_ _The Album._


	34. Van Morrison

690 words. Back to my 'McKay Plus Four' universe for this one. Actually, it's a little companion piece to DaniWilder's 'Sequel to McKay Plus Four' and it's set after her fic.

MGM owns SGA. Not moi.

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><p>"Good night, sweetie," Jennifer said softly as she leaned down to give her youngest son a kiss on his forehead.<p>

"Night, Mommy," replied the sleepy five year old Carson Dex. "Love you."

"Love you too, sweetie." Jennifer smiled as she gently caressed the hair from the boy's eyes. It only took a minute for his breathing to deepen indicating he'd gone to sleep. Without making a sound, Jennifer stood up from where she'd been sitting on the edge of the bed and made her way to the door. She gave her slumbering son another loving smile and then stepped out into the living room.

She sighed and looked around the living room. _What am I going to do now?_ she asked herself when she realized it was still early. Ronon and Johnny had gone camping on the mainland and wouldn't be back until morning, so for the first time in a long time Jennifer found herself with little or nothing to do and no one to distract her.

Sighing into the room, Jennifer moved to her desk and picked up her laptop. She flipped it open as she headed for her couch, and then steadied it upon her lap after sitting down. She browsed through the numerous reports waiting for her, affixing her virtual signature to each one to verify she'd read it. Once the last one was signed she glanced to the clock and grimaced.

_That only took ten minutes!_ she thought with some disgust. _Now what?_

As fate would have it, a beep emanated from the computer telling her she'd just received a message, as had just about everyone else according to the email addresses listed. A small smile appeared on her lips as she read the subject line: 'General Carter's Fiftieth Birthday Party.'

She opened the attached video file and made sure the volume was low enough not to wake up Carson as the video started to play. Her smile widened as the video started off with a sheepish looking Sam being guided about the decorated mess of what had become her flagship, the _Sun Tzu_. Jennifer could read her face and body language so easily: 'I'm doing this for the crew and not for me!'

Sam's cake came into view and Jennifer put her hand up to her mouth to stifle a laugh as the camera operator zoomed in on the cake. It was a cake made in the shape of the _Sun Tzu_, and on the cake was written in big red, bold letters, 'Happy Retirement- WHOOPS!- Birthday, Sam!'

Jennifer couldn't help but laugh at the way Sam looked around. Jennifer didn't know what she was looking for at first, but realized she was looking for the person responsible when the General pointed and declared rather loudly that the person in question would pay dearly.

The camera quickly turned to the target of Sam's threat and Jennifer's eyes watered so quickly it almost hurt. Her finger automatically pressed the pause button and the screen froze.

A tear slipped onto her cheek as she studied the beautiful little brown eyed girl in Rodney's arms. Jennifer's hand flew to her mouth once again, only this time it was to keep a sob at bay and not laughter.

The three year old little girl, her brown eyes wide and a perfect smile that seemed to encompass her whole face, looked like the daughter she used to picture having with Rodney so long ago in every way, even down to her straight, light brown hair that reached to her shoulders and cute dimples on each cheek.

Her hand shook with a ferocity that surprised her as she reached towards the screen. Her fingertips gently brushed along the screen, the tip of her index finger caressing Rodney's smiling face while her middle finger gently grazed along the round cheek of their- his and** Jen's**- daughter.

Jennifer withdrew her hand from the screen and let the tears fall until sleep finally claimed her hours later. When Ronon came home the next morning, he didn't even bat an eyelash at the laptop that had obviously been thrown against the living room wall…

A/N: "Brown Eyed Girl" was written by Van Morrison and released on his 1967 album _Blowin' Your Mind._


	35. The Who

633 words. A thousand thanks to theicemenace for catching some ridiculously insane boo boos for me…that's what I get for writing something at 1 AM.

MGM owns SGA…not me. Set during 'The Shrine'.

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><p>Jennifer angrily pushed her laptop away and sat back in her chair. She'd been hunched over the computer for over an hour, poring over Rodney's tests results, scans and whatever else she could get her hands on. She'd gone through each and every bit of info numerous times over the last week, but she could not- <strong>would not<strong>- give up. She looked to the time displayed in the bottom right hand corner of the screen and realized it was after three in the morning and she hadn't checked on her patient in quite some time.

Jennifer took in a deep breath and slowly lifted herself up out of her chair. She'd been sitting for so long that her body moaned in protest, but she soldiered on and walked towards the door and out into the dimly lit Infirmary. She took the same route to Rodney's bed that she'd taken countless times since he'd been confined to it and before she knew it she was standing next to Rodney.

He was lying on his back with his head turned towards her, and she could see something most people never got to see: a look of peace upon the face of Rodney McKay. Despite the severity of the situation and the sheer hopelessness of it all, Jennifer couldn't help but smile at him.

A soft sigh turned Jennifer's attention to the Rodney's sister. She was sitting in a well padded chair on the other side of Rodney. She was leaned back and had sunk down in the chair, most likely after she'd fallen asleep. Jennifer cringe in sympathy- Jeannie was going to have an awful kink in her neck in the morning.

The sympathy was short-lived, though. In the morning, Rodney would be herded aboard a Jumper at Jeannie's request- based upon anecdotes from Ronon and Teyla- and forced to make a dangerous trip to cave in the middle of nowhere. And why? _If_ the shrine worked then Rodney would have one more day to spend with the people he cared about. _If_ it didn't, then his last few hours would have been spent traipsing around Pegasus for nothing.

She had no doubt in her mind that Rodney would want no part of it, but Jeannie was right- as his next of kin it was ultimately her decision.

And Jennifer wanted no part of it. Unfortunately for her, as the CMO and Rodney's doctor, she had no choice but to go.

Jennifer looked to Rodney's face and was shocked to see his bright blue eyes looking at her.

"Who are you?"

Jennifer's eyes misted over and only the smile she forced onto her face kept the tears from rolling out onto her cheeks. "It's me, Rodney," she said in a whisper. "Jennifer."

"Jennifer?" Rodney repeated softly. "Jennifer? Jennifer?"

Jennifer reached over and covered his hand with hers as he continued to mumble her name. It didn't take long for him to fall back asleep and once she was sure he was, she let the tears fall.

Once the tears had dried up, Jennifer went back to her office and brought up the Day Six recording of Rodney's video diaries. She fast forwarded the video to the part where Rodney told her he loved her and paused the video. She studied his smiling face and felt the tears come again.

As the first tear left her eyes, she realized she was going with Rodney to the shrine not because she had to, but because she wanted to. She wanted him to remember her; she wanted to spend more time with him; she wanted to hear him speak to her as himself one more time; and she wanted the opportunity to tell him what she should have told him on Day Six: that she loved him, too.

A/N: "Who are You" was written by Pete Townsend and released by the group The Who on their 1978 album _Who Are You. _You younger whippersnappers would know it better as the theme music for 'CSI'.


	36. Roxette II

531 words. MGM owns SGA.

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><p>Jennifer sat at her father's desk and sighed at her laptop. She'd been trying for nearly thirty minutes to write Rodney, but every time she'd started she'd immediately discarded it.<p>

It had been three months since she'd left Atlantis- and Rodney- to come home and care for her ailing father. It had been an agonizing decision to leave everything- and everyone- she'd come to love and it hadn't taken her father long to see that his little girl was unhappy, though he'd kept his mouth shut until that very morning.

"_You need to go home, Jennifer," he whispered as she fixed the heavy blanket he was under. _

_Jennifer's brow scrunched together. "I am home, Dad," she replied as she straightened up and placed her hand on his._

_His smile was a knowing one. "This hasn't been your home in a while, honey." He squeezed her hand and sighed. "I had Doc Wilson over yesterday."_

_That surprised Jennifer. Doctor Wilson had been a friend of her father's forever: the brother he'd never had, her father had said on more than one occasion. _

"_He's arranging for me to go into a- what's it called?- a 'long term care facility', I think he called it."_

_Jennifer shook her head wildly. "Dad!"_

"_Jennifer," he said, and Jennifer slammed her mouth shut for that had been the voice of the man who had scolded her on the few occasions she'd given him cause to. "Your life, Jennifer, you put it on hold for me and it's killing me."_

_Jennifer's eyes misted over as she saw a glint in his eye at the morbid pun he'd made._

"_I love you, honey," he said after a moment, his voice serious and void of any amusement he might have been feeling, "and I can't be happy, I can't be at peace, unless I know you're happy." His right eyebrow rose a fraction. "And you haven't been happy since you left…there."_

_Jennifer thought of Rodney and before she could banish the image of his face from her mind her father added, "Since you left him."_

"_Daddy?"_

"_Doc Wilson will be back in a few days to take me to Eau Claire," her father said. "I want you to contact whoever you need to speak with to get back home."_

_The tears finally spilled from her eyes and her father squeezed her hand again. "I love you, honey," he repeated, "and you need to live your life. For me but more importantly for yourself."_

Jennifer sighed again as the cursor blinked at her. She'd tried several more times to talk to her father about it, but his mind, nearly as stubborn as Rodney's, was made up.

So… she was going home.

She reached over and started typing, reading aloud as she did. "Dear Rodney. I've been spending my time caring for Dad and missing you…"

A chime from her laptop informed her of an incoming e-mail. Curious, she minimized her unfinished e-mail and opened the newly arrived message. She read the text and smiled even as the tears fell from her eyes. Never before had a note of seven words touched her so deeply:

'Dear Jennifer. I miss you. Love Rodney."

A/N: "Spending My Time" was written by Per Gessle and released by the group Roxette on their 1991 album _Joyride._


	37. Honeymoon Suite

MGM owns SGA, not me. 595 words. Set during 'Miller's Crossing'.

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><p>"This is really the car <strong>you<strong> want?" Rodney asked loudly enough so that anyone near them would know he was buying the car for them and not for himself.

Jeannie gave Rodney a blatantly annoyed look that morphed into a wide smile as she turned back to the Sandy Beach Metallic Prius she'd fallen in love with the moment she'd seen it. She had actually been kidding- more or less- when she'd told her brother he owed her a car, so she was more than a little surprised this morning when Mer told her they were going shopping for a new car.

"It's perfect, Uncle Mer," said Madison, voicing her mother's thought to the proverbial tee. Jeannie had to remember to get her little girl a treat later.

Rodney sighed and glanced at Kaleb. He liked it too. Figured the tofu lover would take their side. Still, it was the car they'd be driving, not him. Not ever. Not even getting in the damn thing. Not a chance.

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><p>Rodney just managed to keep his head from banging into the passenger side window of the Miller's new Prius.<p>

Again.

"Damn it, Jeannie!" cried Rodney as his sister pulled up obscenely close to the rear end of a tractor trailer before unceremoniously- and recklessly Rodney believed- swerving to the left and speeding past the big rig before veering back to the right to settle in front of it.

Jeannie had insisted that he accompany her on the vehicle's maiden voyage, with Kaleb and Madison following in their old car. Rodney had refused rather adamantly, but then Jeannie had resorted to pouting and it was all a blur from there until Jeannie cursed on a particularly sweet looking little old lady who happened to be straddling the white line separating the lanes.

"Relax, Mer," said Jeannie as though all was right with the world. She looked at him and rolled her eyes as he quickly pointed to the road ahead of them to tell her to look that way. She turned her attention back to the road and asked, "So what's been going on with you lately?"

Rodney's right hand nearly tore the padded hand rest from the door as Jeannie performed more of her evasive maneuvers. "Well I managed to…"

"And I don't mean work, Mer," interrupted Jeannie as she continued to weave through the traffic. "I mean with Kathy."

"Katie," Rodney quietly corrected.

"Something wrong?" asked Jeannie with a quick look to Rodney.

"No," Rodney quickly replied.

"But?"

"Nothing."

"Mer."

"Jeannie."

Jeannie shook her head in disbelief. "What does it take to get you to talk to me?"

Rodney tensed as his Mario Andretti wannabe sister narrowly avoided sideswiping another car. "Not getting me killed would be a good start."

Jeannie slowed the car down and sighed. "Mer… tell me."

Rodney looked out the window to the passing cars and signs. "I bought her a ring."

Jeannie hid her surprise well. "Okay." She glanced at him again. "So what's the trouble?"

Rodney shrugged.

"Is it that doctor?" asked Jeannie, and she couldn't help but smile when Rodney turned to her so fast she was certain his head would twist off.

"Why would… what do…how…"

"I'm your sister, Mer," Jeannie replied as thought it explained everything. She gave her brother a sympathetic smile. "And I read every e-mail you send **very** carefully."

Rodney quickly ran over the e-mails he'd sent over the last few weeks and grimaced at the realization that he'd mentioned Jennifer in several of them. "Oh."

Jeannie laughed and nodded as she said, "Yeah… oh."

A/N: "What Does it Take" was written by Derry Grehan and released by the group Honeymoon Suite on their 1986 album _The Big Prize._


	38. Til Tuesday

719 words. MGM owns SGA. Sorry Dani…I thought the bet was for this season. ;)

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><p>Rodney was sweating in places he didn't even know could sweat. And seriously- why DO guys sweat down there?<p>

And it wasn't even like he was physically exerting himself. He leaned back from the wall and peered into the opened control panel and nearly growled. He'd been searching for the 'temperature control issue' as Radek had coyly put it- he would have to remember to ask Radek why he hadn't mentioned the temperature was stuck at fifteen degrees above normal- for nearly three fruitless hours, and despite his usual absentmindedness when it came to time and appointments, he was painfully aware that he was twenty minutes late for dinner with Jennifer.

He hadn't bothered to call Jennifer beforehand, having assumed that the problem was minor and he'd have it all sorted out in short order with time to spare. When he'd realized that he was indeed going to be late for their date, he still hadn't bothered to call because he'd thought he'd found the problem and the solution. That had been twenty minutes ago.

Rodney leaned forward again so that his face was nearly inside the panel opening. The thought that this was a bad position to be in with Sheppard and his unnerving penchant for showing up when least expected (and least wanted), had just breezed through his head when a loud voice surprised him and had him falling back onto his rump with a resounding thud.

Jennifer was kneeling beside him before he could even register that it had been her that had scared the crap out of him.

"Rodney!" she exclaimed as she held his face in her hands. She looked intently into his eyes as she asked, "Are you okay?"

"Fine," he answered sharply.

"I'm sorry," replied Jennifer as her hands moved from his face and onto his shoulders. "I didn't mean to surprise you."

"It's okay," he answered, his voice made soft by the fact that he knew with all of his heart that she really hadn't meant it. "I just didn't hear you. I'm sorry I'm late for dinner."

Jennifer gave him a rue smile. "Don't be. The reason I came to find you was because I've been called to the Infirmary." She smiled at the look of profound irritation that came across Rodney's face and said, "I won't be long… an hour or so." She glanced back at the panel and said, "Will you be done here?"

Rodney feigned indignation. "Of course," he said with a sense of confidence he didn't truly feel.

Jennifer must have sensed it because she gave him an impish smile before adopting a completely innocent expression. "Well, perhaps you need some motivation."

Rodney was expecting a kiss. A really good one, which in reality was any kiss Jennifer gave him. What he wasn't expecting, was the dear, sweet and adorable love of his life going on for two minutes describing in agonizing detail just what she was going to do to him once they were alone together later in the evening. By the time she'd finished, he was desperately trying to keep his blood pressure down, his heart rate normal, and raging libido in check.

He failed miserably on all counts, and according to the mischievous grin that had reappeared on Jennifer's lips she knew it.

Jennifer stood up and walked away from him without saying anything else. He stayed in a sitting position until his body calmed down. He was just about to get back to work when he heard a soft clearing of a throat. He turned to his left and found Sheppard looking at him. The smirk on the Colonel's face made his stomach queasy.

"You might want to let Jennifer know that voices carry in these corridors there, Rodney," Sheppard said, his voice an amused drawl. He turned to walk away but stopped and faced Rodney again. "You better get cracking with that repair, and I'll cancel the briefing in the morning just in case you do figure it out. You can thank me later."

Rodney watched Sheppard walk away, trying to figure out if he should maim his friend for his insinuations or thank him. In the end he put the decision off and decided to concentrate on fixing the temperature problem so Sheppard wouldn't be canceling the briefing for nothing.

A/N: "Voices Carry" was written and released by the group 'Til Tuesday on their 1985 album, _Voices Carry._


	39. Stan Bush

It's over the limit. Sorry. MGM owns SGA…I do not.

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><p>John's right index finger continued to tap the trigger guard of his P-90 while he tried to gauge just how much trouble he'd get in for shooting McKay. Not fatally, of course, just a little flesh wound on a part of his body that didn't house anything important. In a brief moment of morbid curiosity, John wondered just how important the pinky toe was to human functionality.<p>

Two hours earlier they'd arrived at the DHD on P3M-395 after meeting with the village elders and fixing their shield generator to find the device malfunctioning. Rodney immediately started blabbering about 'Damn Ancients' and 'Stupid Pegasus' as he worked, pausing only long enough to rummage for tools and grab a quick bite of a Power Bar… or two.

And he'd been getting on his nerves ever since. And not just his nerves either. Teyla had **that** look in her brown eyes, the look that said that she was valiantly remembering each and every time Rodney had endeared himself to her over the years just to keep from kicking his ass into oblivion. Ronon had only lasted five minutes before stomping off and taking up a lookout position near the tree line and out of ear shot of Rodney's ramblings.

"Do either of you have a power bar or anything?"

John spared enough of a glance towards Teyla to see the tail end of an eye roll and looked down to the top of Rodney's head. He was still crouched down working more inside the DHD than outside of it. "No, Rodney," he replied a moment later and with only the barest hint of frustration. "But the sooner you hurry up and fix the DHD and stop worrying about your stomach, then the sooner you can get home and dig into a nice plate of whatever the hell it is you want."

There was silence for a moment, and then Rodney slowly turned his head so that he could look at Sheppard. "Did you say something?" He turned back towards the open DHD before he could catch the glare from Sheppard and the telltale flex of his finger around the trigger of his weapon. "I think I've figured out…"

Rodney fell silent for a moment and wiggled his fingers in a move that reminded John of Indiana Jones as he was about to snatch that ugly ass statue from its perch, then reached in and did…something.

There was a shout of triumph from Rodney, as well as two eerily identical sighs of relief from John and Teyla as the DHD glowed back to life. By the time Rodney got up and pressed the first panel Ronon was beside Teyla waiting for the gate to come to life.

John waited for the event horizon to form, then abandoned what had become a tried and true method of departure- Rodney, followed by Teyla, Ronon and himself- and walked into the event horizon. A moment later he came face to face with an irate and very pregnant Jennifer Keller.

"Where is he?" she demanded, her hands on her hips and her voice harsh enough for him to regret coming through the gate first. Her brown eyes were narrowed and her face was contorted into something between anger, pain and anxiety to the point where she didn't look like herself at all.

Before he could respond Rodney appeared through the gate and Jennifer ran to him. She grabbed his right arm just above his wrist and yanked it towards her- hard enough to elicit a yelp from Rodney- and placed his hand flat against her bulging belly.

John gave a questioning glance to Teyla as Jennifer sighed in relief and her facial muscles relaxed to allow the woman they'd all known to reappear. Teyla shrugged her shoulders in response and John turned back to find a now serene Jennifer smiling at him.

"The baby was auditioning for the Cirque de Soleil in there," she explained with a gentle tap to her belly with her free hand, her voice gentle and happy. "And the only way he or she calms down is when Rodney puts his hand on my stomach."

John looked back and forth between Jennifer's calm face and Rodney's smug one. "Wow, Rodney," John said with genuine appreciation, "you've managed to fix a shield generator, a DHD and a pregnant woman in one day." John nodded in salute. "You've really got the touch."

"What do you mean he 'fixed' me?" demanded Jennifer.

"Oh crap…"

A/N: "The Touch" was written by Lenny Macaluso and Stan Bush. It was performed by Bush in the movie 'The Transformers: The Movie' (in the most awesome Optimus Prime scene ever) and released on its soundtrack in 1987.


	40. Harlequin

Over the limit again. Sorry. Again.

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><p>"So what's the problem, Rodney?" asked Sam as she sat down in the chair in her quarters. She hadn't really been surprised when Rodney had called and asked if he could drop by and chat with her. She'd expected him to surreptitiously pick her brain about the wormhole drive or something work related. Since Atlantis' timely arrival and subsequent touch down in the Pacific just off San Francisco work had been pretty much all anyone had the time for.<p>

Needless to say, she'd been shocked when Rodney had softly and somewhat nervously asked if they could talk in her quarters.

Rodney paced in front of her door, and for a split second she wondered as her eyes flitted about the room why she hadn't bothered to personalize the place a little more. She mentally shook the thought from her mind and concentrated on Rodney. "McKay, if you don't stop pacing you're going to make me dizzy."

"It's Jennifer," Rodney replied, though he continued to pace.

"What about her?" asked Sam as she leaned forward, her confusion only increasing by the second.

"She's changed."

"And?"

Rodney stopped and gave Sam a hearty glare.

"What, McKay?" answered Sam with a small smile. "We all change. God knows you've changed over the years." She could see the insult in his eyes long before he physically bristled. "And I meant changed for the better." She waited for him to relax and clarified. "You've become a better person, Rodney, because of Atlantis, the things you've done and the people you've met."

Rodney started pacing again and Sam sighed.

"Are you saying Jennifer has changed for the worse?" She didn't believe it for a microsecond, but by the way Rodney came to an abrupt halt and just stared ahead she knew that he did think it. "McKay," she said in a low voice that was meant to convey her extreme disapproval. His flinch told her he felt it.

"She used to be so sweet," said Rodney after a moment. "There was nothing that could get her upset or make her say anything mean to someone. But now she has no trouble telling someone off, if they deserve it. I mean she doesn't go around telling people off for no reason. And sarcastic! She can be so sarcastic sometimes it's... what's so funny?"

Sam tried to hide her smile, but failed with great distinction. "You're rubbing off on her."

Rodney's face paled with alarming swiftness and Sam knew she'd found the root of Rodney's anxiety.

"Rodney," she said softly, "people change. In Jennifer's case, maybe she's grown up a little." Rodney looked to her and she felt genuine pity for the man that, despite their acrimonious beginnings, had become her friend. "Jennifer was an innocent young woman when she went to Atlantis, at least according to the note left in her personnel file by Elizabeth. By the time I got there, some of that innocence had been already been lost. It's natural, Rodney." Sam thought for a second and asked, "Do you love her?"

"Of course I do!"

"Is anything going to change that?"

"No!"

Sam got up and walked over to Rodney. She placed her hand on his shoulder and gave him a warm smile. "You taken what you've needed from each other- for you it was Jennifer's humility and, no offence, her humanity, and for Jennifer it was your confidence and bluntness- to become more complete people. It's natural. In fact, it's a big part of what love is all about."

Rodney relaxed and Sam gave his shoulder an affectionate rub. "Don't worry, Rodney, Jennifer is too smart a woman to let you ruin her."

"Hey!"

A/N: "Innocence" was released by the band Harlequin on their 1980 album _Love Crimes._


	41. Eric Carmen

Rodney looked up as John set his tray on the table and sat down across from him. It had become, somewhere along the way, a habit of sorts. Rodney would be in the Mess first, invariably with a tablet to his left and his tray of food to the right, his attention equally divided between his stomach and his work. Sheppard would show up a little while later and playful banter would ensue.

"Good morning, Rodney," said Sheppard as he lifted a steaming mug of coffee to his lips. He took a tentative sip and placed it back on the tray. "What are you working on this morning?"

"Power consumption system for the North Pier." Rodney looked up and rolled his eyes at Sheppard's raised eyebrow. "Yes… still. It's not my fault the Ancients didn't leave detailed instructions on installing and operating alternate power sources in the North Pier in case of ZedPM issues." He jammed a piece of bacon into his mouth and washed it down with a healthy gulp of sludge. "So you can just fu…"

"Easy, Rodney," interrupted John with a grin. He gave his cantankerous friend an appraising look. "What got your Batman boxers in a bunch this morning?"

Rodney shrugged, as much as an apology as he was going to offer. "What's on the…" He stopped when he noticed Sheppard looking off to the right with a slight smile on his lips. He glanced over and sighed when he saw one of the female anthropologists giving Sheppard a look. "I'll never understand why you get all the 'come hither' looks from all the hot girls," Rodney mumbled as he looked down to his tablet.

Sheppard smiled as though the reason was quite obvious and took a bite of toast. Oddly enough, the smile turned slightly maniacal as it contorted with his chewing. He swallowed the toast and said, "I wouldn't go talking there, Rodney. You've been getting some looks lately from some of Atlantis' more eligible bachelorettes."

Rodney slowly looked up at Sheppard and despite the sincerity in the Colonel's voice and on his face, he humphed and said with as much sarcasm as his awesome arsenal possessed, "Yeah… because like you it's a curse I've had all my life."

John slowly shook his head as Rodney looked back to his tablet, partly in admiration of Rodney's sarcastic remark and partly in pity, though mostly in the fact that it had been true and Rodney was clueless.

"Its true, Rodney," Sheppard said after a moment. When Rodney looked up he added, "In fact there's a certain eligible lady giving you a particularly intense look from your nine o'clock position."

Despite the fact that he knew the Colonel was messing with him, Rodney looked and was shocked to find an all too familiar strawberry blond Marine giving him a look, though it seemed to him to be an angry glare more than anything.

"Cadman!" groaned Rodney. "She looks like she wants to kill me. Again."

Sheppard smiled and rose from his seat. "Rodney, those aren't her angry eyes," he said as he leaned down towards his friend. "Those are hungry eyes."

Rodney glanced over to find Cadman looking away, though he did notice a healthy redness in her cheeks that hadn't been there before. "Her tray is empty, Sheppard. She can't be hungry."

John resisted the urge to slap his friend upside the head, opting instead to simply raise his eyebrows suggestively when Rodney looked at him. He nodded a few seconds later when Rodney's eyes bulged open, and then smiled when Rodney looked over to Cadman again and then back to him.

His work for the morning completed with a more than satisfactory result, John slapped Rodney's shoulder and started to make his way through the Mess towards his weekly ass kicking appointment with Teyla.

A/N: "Hungry Eyes" was written by John DeNicola and Franke Previte and performed by Eric Carmen in the film 'Dirty Dancing' and released on the film's 1987 soundtrack.


	42. Shaye

When Major Dean Travers had been called into Dr. Weir's office those many years ago, he'd been surprised. He'd never even heard of Elizabeth Weir, nor in the first moments of their meeting did he understand why a civilian was apparently handpicking military personnel for a military assignment. His confusion had only been deepened by the fact that a General by the name of O'Neill had been at the meeting as well but hadn't so much as whispered a syllable of anything. In fact, the General had looked plain bored.

When he'd signed the confidentiality agreement and heard the fantastic tale of the Stargate, the Ancients and the search for Atlantis, he'd been completely floored. His first question had been, "Why me?"

After all, he'd been hard pressed at that very moment to understand why a US Air Force chaplain would be needed to go to another galaxy. He relaxed almost immediately when Elizabeth smiled and explained to him some of the good he could do.

In retrospect, he'd known it too, for a chaplain was a chaplain no matter where he or she was stationed. The fact that he would be the spiritual go to guy for men and women from different armed forces from different countries, and civilian scientists as well, really had no bearing on anything. Nor did the fact that his flock would contain people from different faiths. He was a man of God and he was needed and he could help.

And hadn't he been needed over the years. Many had come to him looking for answers. Why am I here? Why did that happen? He gave them what answers he could, but mostly he directed them to look within themselves and to their faith for their answers. More often than not, they went from his office feeling better than they had been.

Some had come seeking advice. Many times he'd found Elizabeth at his door wondering what she should do and asking him his thoughts on the matter from a spiritual point of view. She'd listened intently to his thoughts and always thanked him for his insight. So too had Colonel Carter and Mr. Woolsey approached him, though to lesser degrees.

Others had needed comfort, for the loss of friends and colleagues or for stress. His work had often been coordinated with the staff psychologist, but just as there were people on the base that didn't necessarily believe in God, there were those who didn't trust psychologists.

Still others had come to him seeking advice about relationships. While fraternization between military members was frowned upon, he had realized that even soldiers needed comfort that only friends- and yes lovers- could provide so far away from home. Of course, the civilians weren't officially prohibited from forming relationships.

He chuckled into his office as he remembered Jennifer Keller asking him what God would think of her pursuing a relationship with someone who didn't believe in God. She'd been joking and he knew it, but he'd felt compelled to point out that he didn't think God would disapprove of love based on that concern. She'd smiled at him, gratefully he thought, and before he knew it she and Dr. McKay were together.

Dean smiled as he got up from his office and headed for the door. As it opened he found Drs. McKay and Keller walking by arm in arm. They stopped when they saw him and Jennifer let go of Rodney's arm and moved towards him.

He was surprised when she hugged him and whispered, "Thank you," in his ear, so much so that he could say nothing as she released him and took McKay's hand and walked down the corridor.

Finally he smiled and said into the empty hallway, "You're welcome, and Godspeed."

A/N: "Godspeed" was written by Ron Hynes and released on his 1997 album _Face to the Gale._ The version I have on my playlist and like better is the one done by the group Shaye, who released it on their 2003 album, _The Bridge._


	43. Tom Cochrane

She looked around the room she'd lived in for the past four years and fought back the tears that wanted to come again. She'd cried so much since the quarantine ended, and every time she'd thought that there were no more tears left to come, they materialized with a vengeance.

Katie sighed as she sat down on the edge of the bed- not her bed any longer. Her bags sat on the floor near the door, chocked full of her Pegasus life. The desk in the room, once daintily decorated with her favorite Pegasus flowers stood bare against the now plain walls.

She sighed again as a look to her watch told her that she still had almost an hour before she had to report to the _Daedalus_ for the trip back home. She'd already said good-bye to her colleagues and friends, those people she had developed genuine affection for.

She'd done a lot of thinking since the quarantine, since Rodney had told her he was going to propose but then didn't, using the universal 'I need me time' speech to break up with her. She hadn't said much to him since, not trusting herself to do so without breaking down. Knowing Rodney he probably thought she was avoiding him because she was mad at him.

She wasn't. She couldn't be. Much of her thought lately had lead to the inescapable conclusion that Rodney was who he was, just as she was who she was. They simply weren't compatible. It wasn't his fault any more than it was hers.

Katie sniffed back the tears that threatened to come again, and held them at bay aided by the realization that she couldn't leave things with Rodney in such a sorry state. She had just gotten up off the bed with the intention of going to find Rodney when her door chime echoed into her room.

She rushed to the door and palmed it open, expecting to see Rodney framed in the doorway but still surprised when she actually did see him.

"Katie," said Rodney, "I'm glad I caught you. I just wanted to, you know, say I'm sorry for, well, everything."

"It's okay, Rodney," Katie said as a smile came to her lips. He looked down to his feet and she said, "Really. We just…we're not meant to be and that's okay."

Rodney looked up and Katie nearly wept at the regret and true sorrow in his bright blue eyes.

They looked into each other's eyes until Katie leaned forward and slipped her arms around Rodney's neck and hugged him. "I wish you well, Rodney," she whispered as he hugged her back. "And I will always- **always**- be your friend."

She smiled against his shoulder when his arms tightened briefly around her waist. A moment later she let him go and they found themselves looking into each other's eyes again. "If there's ever anything you need that I can help with…"

"I'll call," she promised and Rodney nodded.

"Take care of yourself, Katie," he said.

Katie nodded and Rodney nodded back, then turned around and walked away. When the door closed Katie sat on the edge of her bed again and instead of having to hold back the tears, she smiled.

A/N: "I Wish You Well" was written by Tom Cochrane and released on his 1995 album, _Ragged Ass Road._


	44. Three Dog Night

498 words. Don't own SGA. MGM does. I'm catching up Ice.

* * *

><p>The bullet, or whatever the Tohadans used as projectiles, did a tremendous amount of damage to Rodney. It had done so much damage that the surgery had gone down in the Atlantis record books as one of the longest and most complicated ever.<p>

Jennifer looked through the glass that separated her from the man she loved and quietly wept. He was in there fighting for his life and she couldn't be near him, not with the virus she was currently fighting off. It had been bad enough not being able to perform the surgery, but having to keep her distance was killing her.

So to was the fact that many had believed that he had deserved what he'd gotten.

The wife of the Tohadan leader, Aranka, had asked Rodney to visit her in their quarters to ask him some technical questions about their planetary communications systems. No one had batted an eyelash at the request, as Aranka was one of the planet's foremost experts on the subject. What had happened next was a blur. Her husband, Stepkan, claimed to have entered their quarters to find his wife naked and in the arms of Rodney. Blinded by rage Stepkan took a weapon from a nearby guard and shot Rodney.

John and Ronon had arrived before anything more could be done to Rodney, but the damage had been done. They'd brought him back and Amanda had performed a miracle in keeping him alive. That had been three days ago. During the first day there had been whispers among the populace that Rodney had been seducing Aranka and deserved what he'd been given. Some of them had even reached her along with some sympathetic looks that she knew were more pity than sympathy. People believed that Rodney was capable of such an act, though she knew better. She knew without a doubt that Rodney simply wouldn't do such a thing.

By day two the looks of pity had changed to ones of true sympathy, and it hadn't been until John told her that Aranka had confessed to luring Rodney to her quarters and trying to seduce him that she understood.

She could feel no smugness at being right. She could feel no vindication in her faith in him. She was too worried and too heartbroken at the sight of her love laying on a bed feet away from her hovering somewhere between life and death.

Jennifer sensed a presence beside her and she took in a shallow breath that exited her lips in a shaky exhale. "He's going to be fine," she said, her voice full of forced confidence. "I know in my heart he's going to be okay."

John slipped his left arm around Jennifer's shoulders and hugged her into his side. "I know he is," he replied, his voice sure and steady.

Jennifer cuddled her face against John's shoulder and watched the steady rise and fall of Rodney's chest.

It wouldn't end like this.

She just knew it wouldn't.

A/N: "In My Heart" was written and performed by the group Three Dog Night. The sound was used in the 1986 move 'Robotech: The Movie' and released on 1996 album _Robotech: Perfect Soundtrack Album._


	45. OneRepublic

500 words. This is part one of a two or three part arc. Not sure yet.

* * *

><p>Jennifer had seen people die right before her eyes before. It was part of a doctor's curse, not being able to save everyone. Through the years she'd developed various methods of dealing with the heartbreaking grief and the nearly overwhelming sense of guilt. For almost twenty years, her most reliable emotional crutch had been the man who'd so nervously slipped the wedding ring on her finger those many years ago, and she so desperately needed him right now.<p>

But he couldn't help her, not this time.

The tips of her fingers grazed along the wedding band he wore, the one she'd put on his finger during their wedding ceremony, and the tears threatened to come again. She willed them back, and this time they obeyed.

"Hey."

Jennifer looked up to the source of the weak voice and she smiled when she found his blue eyes watching her.

"You're supposed to be resting," she gently admonished him. The doctor within her knew rest was what he needed yet the wife, knowing there wasn't much time left, wanted nothing more than to spend as much time as she could with him.

"I'll get lots of rest soon," he replied with a half grin, but all trace of it faded when he saw her smile disappear and a tear skip from her right eye. "Sorry."

Jennifer sniffed and tried to muster up what courage she had left. "It's okay, Rodney." She slipped her fingers around his and nearly sobbed when his weak fingers could only barely squeeze hers.

"We've had a good life, right?" he asked as he closed his eyes.

She didn't trust herself to speak so she smiled and nodded. It wasn't for another couple of seconds that she noticed he didn't see her so she said, "Yes."

She internally winced at how her voice had sounded more like a sob than actual speech. Even more so when his eyes slowly opened and he looked at her once again, his lips drawn down in to a melancholy frown.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, and Jennifer's heart shattered.

"Stop, Rodney," she said firmly as she leaned in towards him. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"You know I love you, right?" he asked.

Jennifer kept her left hand clasped with his and moved her right hand up to caress his cheek. "Of course I do, Rodney."

"Because I know I never told you enough," he said but Jennifer stopped him from going on by placing her fingers on his lips.

"You told me enough," she said, her voice steady and gentle. "And you definitely showed me enough."

For a second there was a smug grin on his lips, an all too brief glimpse of the strength and lovable arrogance that had been a big part of reason she'd fell in love with him.

"I'm tired," he whispered as his eyes fluttered shut.

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his forehead. "You rest. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Okay."

A/N: "Good Life" was written by OneRepublic members Ryan Tedder, Brent Kutzle, and Eddie Fisher along with Noel Zancanella and released by OneRepublic on their 2009 album _Waking Up._


	46. Daniel Cage

"How's he doing?"

Jennifer tore her gaze from Rodney's face and looked up to General John Sheppard. He was standing on the opposite side of Rodney's bed looking down at his dying friend with all the love, affection and sadness that she would expect to see from his brother.

"He's doing okay," she lied, and even though John didn't take his eyes off Rodney his slow nod told her he knew the devastating truth.

"There's nothing we can do?" he asked.

Jennifer sighed, not at the ludicrous nature of the question- for John knew that every possible course of action had been pursued and had been unsuccessful- but more out of her personal frustration and inability to save the man she loved. "No."

Silence descended upon them as each got caught up in memories and feelings.

It was John that finally broke the silence. "He owes me twenty bucks."

Despite the situation and the profound grief that had been weighing upon her, Jennifer snorted in amusement. A few seconds later a small laugh escaped her mouth, and when she finally looked up at John and found him grinning at her she laughed some more.

The laughter lasted a short time as did the relief it brought her. "Thanks," she told him with a sincere smile. "I needed that."

John nodded, but his grin faded as he looked back to Rodney. "Have Teyla and Ronon been by?"

Jennifer brought Rodney's nearly lifeless hand to her lips and pressed a kiss to it. "Teyla came by yesterday morning and informed us that a new yearly feast was being started in Rodney's honor for all the work he's done for the Athosian people." She gave John a dry look. "He was tickled pink."

John nodded as though everything was right with the universe. "Naturally."

"Ronon was here yesterday afternoon and told Rodney not to die until he'd finished his poem about your adventures." Jennifer smiled proudly and once again kissed Rodney's hand. "He told Rodney that he figured prominently in many verses."

With no small amount of pride in his voice, Sheppard said, "I bet."

"What am I going to do, John?" she asked as she looked up to him, her brown eyes nearly overflowing with tears. "Who's going to hold me when I need it? Who's going to help me through the hard times? Who's going to catch me when I fall?"

John moved around the bed and got down on one knee next to Jennifer and pulled her into a tight hug. "You'll be okay," he assured her. "Rodney is always bragging about how strong you are, and he's right. I promise. It might…"

"Excuse me, sir," interrupted the voice of John's aide, Lieutenant Stone. "I'm sorry to interrupt but I've been told to inform you that a Hive ship has just entered orbit."

John released Jennifer and stood up. "Why hasn't the alarm been sounded?"

Stone shifted uncomfortably and said, "It's Delilah, sir, and she's asking to see Dr. McKay."

A/N: "Catch Me When I Fall" was performed by Daniel Cage in the 'Flashpoint' episode "Whatever it Takes", which originally aired on Aug. 20, 2010.


	47. John Williams

600 words. The saga continues.

* * *

><p>John left the Infirmary with Stone in tow. Despite his sixty years of age, he still managed to reach the control room ahead of the younger man.<p>

"Colonel?"

His second in command glanced at him before turning her attention back to the Hive ship displayed on the monitor.

"It popped in a few minutes ago, sir," answered Colonel Laura Cadman. She looked at Sheppard and added, "All they've said so far is that Delilah wants to talk to Rodney." She waited until Sheppard was standing beside her to quietly ask, "How is he?"

"Hanging in there," replied John as he studied the screen. "Tell her to come down. She can bring one… person… with her. If we detect any more than two life signs we blow them from the sky."

"Yes, sir."

John turned and walked towards his office, wondering as he moved just what the hell the universe was coming to.

* * *

><p>Cadman leaned in towards John and whispered, "I always hear the theme from Jaws in my head when I see her."<p>

Sheppard grunted in amusement as Delilah made her way towards them.

"Where is Rodney?" she demanded when she finally reached them.

"He's unavailable," he replied. "And just how did you know where to find us?"

"My queen is always aware of your location, John Sheppard," said Todd as he stood next to Delilah. "The fact that she never reveals it to anyone should earn some gratitude from you."

John was about to tell Todd where he could stick his gratitude when Delilah hissed and edged closer to him. He was ninety-nine percent sure she wouldn't try anything, but it was definitely comforting to hear Cadman grip and raise her weapon.

"Where is Rodney?"

"I told you he's…"

"He's dying," came a new voice from the entrance. All eyes, Wraith and human, turned to see Jennifer McKay standing in the open doorway. "And if there's anything you want to say to him, you'd better," she stopped as tears started flowing from her eyes and her voice abandoned her. A sniff and small cough later she said, "You'd better hurry."

* * *

><p>"What is wrong with him?"<p>

Jennifer stood next to Delilah, and even though she answered the question her attention was focused on Rodney. "He's dying. He's nearly sixty years old. He's spent most of his life not taking the best care of himself and his body has been through so much…"

There was silence in the room, save for the beeping of the heart monitor and the background noises one could normally hear in the Infirmary.

"If I speak to him will he hear me?" asked Delilah, though like Jennifer her eyes stayed on Rodney.

"I… I don't know," replied Jennifer. And she truly didn't, not that that kept her from talking to him. "I like to believe he can hear," she gave Delilah a quick sidelong glance, "us."

"Then I wish to speak to him. Alone."

There was an immediate chorus of negative responses, all of which swiftly ended when Delilah quickly spun so that she was facing Jennifer. "To offer him my sincere thanks for the pleasure he has brought me with music and videos." She stopped and hesitated as though what she was about to say next was going to leave a distinctly unpleasant taste in her feeding organ. "Please."

Jennifer looked into the green inhuman eyes of Delilah and found herself nodding. "One minute and not a second more."

Delilah inclined her head, in thanks or acknowledgement Jennifer didn't know. What she did know was Cadman was nearby and ready for anything.

A/N: The classic "Theme from Jaws" was written by John Williams for the movie 'Jaws'. It was released on the movie's soundtrack in 1975, and re-released on CD in 1992.


	48. America and Elton John

Well it's a little over and a double song fic.

I suppose it's a little late to explain just who Delilah is. Sorry. For those of you who don't know, she's a creation of theicemenace and her origins can be found in Ice's Playlist Fic, the Chapter entitled "Killer Queen". And thanks to Ice for letting me use her idea for the first song. :)

* * *

><p>Delilah looked down upon the human for whom she had developed a deep and genuine respect. He had indeed brought her much joy and entertainment over the years, first with the iPod and music and then with videos Rodney called "movies".<p>

She exhaled excitedly as she recalled Colonel Cadman mentioning _Jaws_, a movie that Rodney had told her many years ago that she might enjoy, and he was quite correct.

Her eyes moved up to view the monitors next to his bed and she softly hissed at them. The humans were so dependant upon machines to tell them what was so obvious. Her eyes fell down to Rodney's face again. She needed no machines to know that the one human she respected- and yes liked- would soon die.

She looked about the room. The other humans, Sheppard, Cadman, Stone and Jennifer were watching her. She could sense and easily see distrust, anger and fear in the eyes of the soldiers. Yet from Jennifer all she could sense was intense grief.

Delilah felt grief as well, though she would admit it to no one. She thought of her interactions with Rodney, from their first meeting to the time he bestowed upon her the name 'Delilah' to Rodney and Jennifer's wedding and so on. For some reason, a particular memory surfaced that caused her great delight.

* * *

><p>"You're the one who said we should try to stay on her good side," groused Rodney as he entered Delilah's chambers. "It's not like… oh come on!"<p>

Delilah rose from her throne and motioned to her right to indicate the queen of a friendly Hive. "You will supply her with a name as you have done for me and the others."

Rodney rolled his eyes and gave Sheppard a pleading look, to which Sheppard only smiled. "Look," said Rodney as he turned his attention back to Delilah, "we're very busy people who can't just drop everything and come all the way out here every time a horse with no name suddenly decides she wants one."

Delilah's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What is this thing, a horse?"

Rodney engaged in a small coughing fit making him unable to respond.

"Another word for important friend," supplied Sheppard with a sidelong glance to Rodney who quickly agreed by nodding his head.

"Ah," said Delilah as she stepped off the dais and once again indicated the visiting queen. "Proceed."

Rodney and Sheppard shared a look and both men looked to the queen. She looked almost exactly like the other three they'd recently named with some minor exceptions that didn't particularly help them in the naming area.

Rodney shrugged his shoulders and said, "Why don't you, I don't know, tell us about you or your Hive, or something."

"We are allied with Delilah," the queen said, "and I have been intrigued by her tales about you… Rodney."

Rodney gulped but otherwise kept his cool. "Nikita."

"Nikita," the queen repeated, allowing the unfamiliar word to slip off her tongue. "Why did you choose that name?"

"Your voice," replied Rodney. "It sounds like it has an accent and that name is a common name from where that accent is spoken."

The queen turned to Delilah and after a moment of silence they bowed towards each other.

"That is acceptable," said Nikita before turning around and leaving through the back door.

"Well what a bit…"

"You have **my** gratitude, Rodney," said Delilah as she stepped towards them. "You may leave now."

* * *

><p>Delilah smiled at the memory. "You have been a very good… horse… Rodney," she said lowly, knowing full well that a horse was an Earth animal and also knowing that Rodney knew that she knew.<p>

A/N: "A Horse with No Name" was written by Dewey Bunnell and released by the band America on their self titled 1971 album.

A/N: "Nikita" was written by Bernie Taupin and Elton John and released on the latter's 1985 album _Ice on Fire._ Oddly enough, the feminine spelling is "Nakita" and the song is about a woman but the masculine spelling remained.


	49. Corey Hart

A continuation of the Rodney dying arc… it follows Ch. 53 of theicemenace's Rodney and Significant Other FF Challenge.

* * *

><p>Laura had seen some crap in the years she'd been with the Stargate program. A <strong>lot<strong> of crap really. Yet on the list of the insane amount of weird crap she'd seen, what was happening today catapulted straight up to number one with a silver bullet.

She couldn't determine exactly where on the weird-o-meter it was, but allowing a Wraith queen on Atlantis and then letting her privately talk to Rodney had to be in the ludicrous or preposterous range. And that was why she had surreptitiously shifted her stance so that she'd have a clear shot at Delilah if she tried anything. Plus she'd only have a quick turn to take one at Todd if he decided to be brave or stupid.

Yet despite the seriousness of the situation, Laura couldn't help but be caught up in the wistful emotions Chuck's beautiful words and music had stirred up within her.

Rodney hadn't just been the leader of the science team. Sure, that had been his domain, but there hadn't been many decisions made by the commanders of Atlantis from day one that hadn't involved input from Rodney in one form or another.

Laura let out a short breath and refocused on Delilah. And just in time it seemed, for the queen flexed her hand and said something to Jennifer. Laura couldn't hear what had been said, but the way Jennifer's head snapped up made her instinctively raise her weapon and point it directly at the queen's chest.

There was a noise to her right, a growl followed in short order by the telltale sound of bone breaking, then a thump. Laura glanced in that direction to find no sign of Stone and just in time to see Sheppard be thrown against the wall.

Laura didn't have to do the math. Her training and common sense, augmented by her valuable field experience, told her that Todd was the immediate threat and that he would have to be neutralized if she were going to be able to take out Delilah.

She swung her weapon to the right, but even as instantaneous as her decision had been it still hadn't been fast enough.

Before she knew it she felt herself being lifted into the air and just managed to brace herself before her back was slammed into the hard metal deck. The air rushed from her lungs and she struggled to draw in a breath to replace it.

Still, the ingrained never surrender attitude of the Marines that was as much a part of her as her parents' DNA demanded that she fight back. Her left hand punched at Todd as her right hand fumbled towards the sidearm on her hip. On the third try she freed it from its holster.

Todd's left hand stopped pushing down onto her chest and knocked the gun from her hand before she could squeeze the trigger.

Laura looked up and to see Todd raise his right hand into the air and she froze. She could see the feeding organ in the palm of his hand and knew what was coming. She had just managed to silently apologize to Rodney before the hand came down towards her.

A/N: "Never Surrender" was written by Corey Hart and released by him on his 1985 album _Boy in the Box._


	50. Harold Faltermeyer

Jennifer's head had spun around at the first sound of the scuffle, but by the time her mind had caught up with what her eyes were seeing it was all but over.

Stone and John were both crumpled up on the floor, Stone in the doorway and John at the base of a wall. At the very least they were unconscious, but she never even had time to do a quick visual assessment as her attention was demanded by Todd and Cadman.

Jennifer gasped and her eyes widened in shock as Todd quickly thrust his right hand down towards the helpless Colonel pinned underneath him.

Short seconds later Jennifer finally blinked, and her eyes followed Todd as he slowly and carefully stood up. His eyes found hers, but Jennifer could only maintain the contact for a moment before looking down to the woman who had become one of her best friends.

Laura was laying on her back with her face turned towards Jennifer, her chest rising and falling in a quick but steady rhythm. It looked as though she was asleep, and the only signs to the contrary were the trickle of blood coming from her nose and the darkness on her left cheek where Todd had hit her.

Jennifer quickly looked back up to Todd. He nodded once and it took only an instant to realize that it hadn't been meant for her so she quickly turned back to Delilah.

The Wraith Queen looked at her and held her gaze as she lifted her right hand up into the air.

"I will not allow him to suffer any longer."

"NO!" screamed Jennifer as Delilah's hand shot downward at an unbelievable velocity and impacted Rodney's chest.

The monitors instantly began chirping and beeping in alarm as Rodney's body started to convulse underneath Delilah's touch.

Jennifer ran around the end of the bed and grabbed at Delilah's arm. Before she could even try to pull the queen from her husband she felt strong alien hands wrap themselves around her arms just above her elbows and pull her away from Delilah.

Jennifer fought against Todd's grip, and despite the knowledge that she was absolutely no match for him in a physical struggle, she struggled anyway.

"Is he not suffering, Doctor?"

Breathing heavily Jennifer stopped her hopeless fight. Unable to watch she closed her eyes and tried to shut out the sounds of Rodney dying by replaying her favorite memories in her mind: she remembered the first time they met and how she thought he was a bit of a jerk; she remembered the first time they shared a meal together because of a lack of seating space in the Mess and how pleasant he'd been; she remembered their first date, the first time they slept together, their wedding and the time he…

"Doctor."

Jennifer opened her eyes and came face to face with Delilah. Her stomach heaved at how fresh and smug the queen looked.

Delilah's head tilted to the left and her voice was laced with satisfaction as she said, "It is done."

A/N: "Memories" was written by Harold Faltermeyer for the movie 'Top Gun'. It was released on the movie's 1986 soundtrack.


	51. The King

For the five or six of you still following this, the torture is almost over. ;) Thanks Ice for the help.

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><p>Jennifer finally squirmed out of Todd's grasp though she didn't dare try to take a step, afraid that her knees would finally give way and let her collapse onto the floor. Her stomach had dropped into her shoes and her heart, even though it was beating wildly in her chest, had never felt so empty and dead. Her lungs felt as though they'd been filled with cement, making her breaths short and shallow. Rodney was… Delilah had…<p>

"Why?" she croaked pleadingly, knowing that one of Rodney's truly deepest fears was being fed upon by a Wraith.

Delilah still stood before her, blocking her view of Rodney even though she doubted she could see him anyway through the torrent of tears that were falling from her eyes.

Delilah's eyes narrowed and for a moment Jennifer thought she saw confusion on the Queen's face. She never had time to dwell on it though, as the sounds of heavy footfalls and the telltale whines of standard issue energy weapons powering up signaled the arrival of heavily armed security personnel.

Jennifer continued to gape beseechingly at Delilah as the Wraith slowly looked about the room at the dozen or so weapons pointed at her. When Delilah looked back to her Jennifer felt anger and frustration at the way she continued to look so blasé about the situation.

"Son of a bitch!"

Jennifer and Delilah turned in unison towards the source of the profane exclamation. John was standing, his right hand rubbing gingerly at the back of his head. After a moment he stopped and leaned down to check on Stone, then motioned for the two nearest security guards to remove him from the area. Only when they were gone did John turn to face them.

John pointed at Todd and said through clenched teeth, "If he so much as twitches, shoot him."

Jennifer felt Todd stiffen behind her and she shuddered. It unnerved her, the realization that he was still behind her so she quickly moved over to where Cadman was starting to sit up.

"Easy, Laura," Jennifer said as she leaned down next to the Colonel.

"Son of a bitch," Laura growled in a tone of voice that eerily mimicked that of her CO. She winced and brought her hand up to gently probe her cheek. "I'm gonna kill him!" She looked into Jennifer's eyes and noticed the tears still flowing from her eyes. "What? Is it… is it," she gulped and finished with a whisper, "Rodney?"

Jennifer couldn't talk, nor could she miss the fury that instantly materialized in Laura's hazel eyes.

With the grace of a highly trained and athletic Marine, Laura rolled up onto all fours and in one fluid motion picked up her weapon and then got to her feet within the blink of an eye, her weapon pointing to the middle of Todd's chest.

Jennifer got to her feet and stood next to Laura as they watched Delilah move to stand next to Todd. The queen looked from John to Laura and then to Jennifer. "You humans with your suspicious minds."

Before Jennifer could ask what she meant by that, a voice she'd given up ever hearing again filled the room.

"Can someone **please** get me some pants!"

A/N: "Suspicious Minds" was written by Mark James and released, and made famous by the way, by Elvis in 1969.


	52. Rush

"He's what?"

Dr. Amanda Sheppard glanced at the report in her hands, not out of any need to check the facts she'd already memorized and imparted, but more to reassure those surrounding her that she was relaying the correct information. Normally the need to do so would have stung her pride a little, but this was an extraordinary circumstance to say the least and her pride had been left at the door.

"He's physically the age of forty-five, give or take a year or two," she repeated with a deliberateness that the stupefied people in the room could not miss. She scanned the faces of Laura, John and Jennifer, making eye contact with each one before finally settling her gaze onto the remarkably bright blue eyes of Rodney. "I would say he's the youngest person in the room right now." A second passed by before she felt compelled to clarify again. "Physically."

Everyone turned to look at Rodney, who had gotten dressed and now sat on the bed instead of laying on it. He opened his mouth, fully intent on asking everyone just what it was they were gawking at, but he couldn't because he knew full well that they were in shock at seeing him so young.

So was he really.

He'd caught himself several times in the hour that had passed since Delilah had restored years to his life flexing his hands, turning his head and rubbing his right knee. While the ailments that had affected those parts of his body were still there, they weren't nearly as potent or painful as they had been.

Even know he was looking down at the backs of his hands, though he hadn't realized it, and was awed by the smooth and age spot free skin.

"Rodney?"

He looked up and found Jennifer gazing at him. "Jennifer."

"I… you…" Jennifer gave up trying to speak and simply held out her hand to her husband. He took it without hesitation and she held on tight as he stood up from the bed, their eyes remaining locked onto each other's as he moved.

When he was standing before her, her free hand reached over to take his. She marveled at the heat coming from his touch and the smoothness of his skin. Her eyes filled to their brims with tears and her voice was soft when she said, "I thought I'd lost you."

Rodney's thumbs rubbed small circular patterns on the backs of Jennifer's hands and he shrugged somewhat nonchalantly. "For what it's worth, so did I."

He'd tried to instill some humor in his voice, make light of an intense and emotional situation, but he'd failed miserably. The tears started pouring from her eyes as she leaned in towards him. She was slow, hesitant to the point where Rodney could take no more and quickly closed the remaining short distance between them. They became lost in their kiss until a soft hiss and a familiar Wraith voice enthusiastically exclaimed behind them, "Excellent."

A/N: "For What it's Worth" was written by Stephen Sills and originally released by the group Buffalo Springfield in January, 1967. The version I know and have on my playlist is a version by Rush, who covered the track for their 2004 album _Feedback._


	53. Rod Stewart

Finally, the last chapter of the Rodney dying arc, as I've come to call it. Thanks Ice. ;)

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><p>Jennifer and Rodney languorously ended their kiss, hesitant as they were to separate after having come so close to never being able to do that again. Jennifer in particular was reluctant to break apart from Rodney, especially after she opened her eyes and gazed into his. She hadn't seen that intense spark of desire in his eyes for far too long.<p>

In the end, however, she knew they had to deal with Delilah and she, along with Rodney and everyone else in the room, turned her attention to the Wraith that had saved the love of her life's life.

Delilah stood just inside the door, Todd stationed dutifully behind her, with all the regality one would expect from a Queen. Her eyes were almost aglow as she looked at Rodney, and her satisfaction radiated off her in waves.

"I am pleased to see you awake and well, Rodney," the Wraith Queen said after her visual inspection had been completed.

Jennifer's eyes flitted to Rodney's face and she was surprised to see his cheeks tinged with redness. When he spoke a moment later, she was just as surprised to hear an angry edge to his voice.

"How many did it cost?"

Delilah's eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared for an instant, but she said nothing.

Rodney's hand, which had slipped into hers when she'd turned, tightened its grip around her fingers. "How many lives did it cost to restore mine?"

Jennifer's stomach dropped into her shoes. She'd been so delighted, so thrilled, to have her Rodney back that that thought hadn't even occurred to her. What was worse, she realized as she swallowed the lump that had instantly materialized in her throat, was that she couldn't bring herself to care. Rodney was back with her for a while and that was all she could bring herself to care about.

Rodney however, was a different matter. He edged towards Delilah but stopped when Jennifer didn't move and he wouldn't release her hand.

"How many did you feed on before coming down here, hmn?"

Delilah stepped towards Rodney and for a moment Jennifer felt her heart spasm. What if Delilah snapped at Rodney's tone? What if…

"Three," answered Delilah, and Jennifer could feel Rodney's flare of anger in the tremor that moved through his body, including the hand that was holding hers. Before Rodney could say anything Delilah continued. "I thought you would be happy, Rodney. I have given you back your life. I have given you more time to spend with your family." Her voice lowered and came across as threatening and disappointed at the same time. "I thought that would demand some gratitude."

"Gratitude?" Rodney sputtered. "You killed three people to…"

Jennifer jumped as Delilah hissed and took another step towards Rodney. "I am Wraith, Rodney!" No one gathered in the room could miss the way she deliberately flexed her feeding hand. "I am a Queen! Make no mistake, I will feed when I want and no one or nothing will stop me. I fed before coming here because I wanted to and for no other reason."

Jennifer looked from Delilah to Rodney. She could see his jaw working hard as he tried to sort through what had to be intense and conflicting emotions. When he sighed and his jaw relaxed, Jennifer hoped it meant what she thought it meant.

"I know," he said finally. "I know what you are and you can't help that." He nodded and gave the Wraith a small smile. "Thank you."

Delilah nodded, though her anger was still plainly evident.

"Really," said Rodney. He sighed and shrugged. "Thank you. I never expected to get another chance." He glanced to Jennifer long enough to give her a warm smile and turned back to Delilah. "Thank you, and I'm sorry."

Delilah inclined her head and said, "Apology accepted, and you are welcome."

Rodney nodded and his voice was strained as he said, "But you can't do that again."

For a moment fear enveloped Jennifer, but only for a moment. She knew he would never allow it to happen again, and now that the euphoria of having Rodney back with her was easing, she could understand why and agree with him.

"I have no intention of keeping you forever young, Rodney." Delilah took another step towards him so that they were only a foot apart. "You are my friend," she said softly. "I did not want to see your life end and I had the means to prevent it. But I will not do it again."

Rodney nodded. "Okay."

Delilah nodded and stepped back. "I will expect you to keep your next appointment to update my media files," she announced grandly. Without waiting she turned and walked out of the room, pausing at the threshold long enough to say over her shoulder, "Until then."

Todd followed her out, leaving the five humans staring disbelievingly at the door.

It was Amanda who broke the silence by saying, "Why don't we leave the McKay's alone for a little while."

Before Jennifer knew it, they were alone and she was being kissed by the young (relatively speaking) and firm lips of her rejuvenated husband. She had to force herself to remember that he was no longer the frail man she'd kissed so often over the last few weeks and returned his zealous kiss with equal passion.

Rodney ended the kiss a few moments later and rested his forehead against hers.

"Let's go home," Rodney said.

Jennifer leaned back enough to look into his eyes and heat flooded her entire body. The intense spark of desire she'd seen earlier had grown into a full blown inferno.

"Oh yes," she said, and she squealed in delight as Rodney started dragging her towards the door and what promised to be a very long and very wonderful night.

A/N: "Forever Young" was written by Jim Cregan, Kevin Savigar, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart. The version I have in my playlist is performed by Rod Stewart, who rewrote Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" and was released by Stewart on his 1988 album _Out of Order._


	54. Trooper

Sorry… my inner chauvinist came out in this one.

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><p>The only defense the two of them could really come up with was that they were typical, single, bored human males with streaks of immaturity running through them that would have put an adolescent teenager to shame. It was an overused and flimsy excuse for the dastardly habit they'd developed, but it worked for them. The bad habit? Waiting for the new arrivals to enter the city from the <em>Daedalus<em>. Why? To scope out the new **female **arrivals and see just how much beauty the SGC was sending them.

Sheppard could barely contain his excitement as the door leading outside to the landing pad started to slide open. He glanced to his left where his partner in this crime against the fairer sex was staring intently at the tablet in his hands. Typical McKay: cram in as much work as he can before the fun starts.

"Here they come, McKay," said John as he bumped Rodney's arm with his elbow.

John grinned as Rodney furiously tapped the tablet's screen for a few seconds before it went into sleep mode and he lowered it to his side.

Rodney's eyes focused on the now completely open door and John followed suit just in time to see Atlantis' newest personnel walk into the city.

John wondered what it must have looked like to the new people. Here they were, having flown in a spaceship to a different galaxy entering _the_ legendary city of Atlantis that had been created by the Ancients themselves, and the first thing they see is the military commander and head of science intently studying them. It must have been a little unnerving, especially for the ladies.

A tall blond with curvy hips walked past them towards the orientation stations and John leaned a couple of inches towards Rodney. "Seven?"

There was a curt nod and Rodney agreed, "Seven."

A short redhead with piercing green eyes strode by them and John almost whistled appreciatively. "Eight."

"Agreed," replied Rodney, an admiring lilt in his voice.

A medium height brunette appeared and John automatically said, "Nine?"

Rodney didn't answer but John noticed Rodney squint. John filed the fact away for later teasing and said, "What?"

Rodney shook his head and said in a loud whisper, "Wait!"

The lady approached and after she'd passed by, the men turned towards each other and simultaneously said in eerily similar tones of disappointment, "Two."

They turned their attention back to the door and found a strawberry blond marching their way. It was her clothes that really made her stand out. She was wearing tight jeans and an even tighter t-shirt that left little to the imagination.

"Eight," said John. He turned towards the scientist and Rodney immediately shook his head.

"Three dressed up as a nine," replied Rodney.

John didn't agree, but Rodney had been a foot or two closer so maybe he'd seen something that he hadn't.

John was still looking at Rodney when the Canadian's eyes and mouth widened. John's eyes followed Rodney to land on a shortish blond with nice curves, brown eyes and beautiful smile who was wearing Medical colors. She passed by them, giving them an awe-filled "Hi" as she went.

"Nice," said John. Rodney nodded and John said, "Eight?"

Rodney shook his head, and only then did John notice the dreamy expression on McKay's usually sour face. "Ten."

A/N: "3 Dressed Up as a 9" was written and released by the group Trooper on their 1979 album, _Flying Colors._


	55. Rush II

"No."

"Come on, Rodney! It'll be fun. You do remember fun, right?"

Rodney rolled his eyes and made a big show of not looking at her, though he did make sure to be able to see her in his periphery. "I do remember fun, Cadman."

Laura's right hand found its way to her hip and she smiled sweetly at her beau, knowing full well that he could see her out of the corner of his eye. "You're afraid, aren't you?"

Rodney slowly looked up from his tablet and turned to look at Laura. "I am not."

Laura's shapely eyebrows rose in response. "Really? Because it seems to me like you definitely are afraid."

"Look, Cadman," replied Rodney, his voice grating and loud in the lab. He ignored the looks he was getting from Zelenka and the ten other scientists and focused on the irritating yet incredibly hot woman in front of him. "I'm busy trying to figure out how to keep the plumbing in the residential areas from conking out whenever someone activates the transporter in corridor alpha." He held up a hand when Cadman opened her mouth. "I don't know why it happens or how they're connected. They shouldn't be connected. One should have no bearing on the other. But it happens according to Sheppard who's had at least three unintentional cold showers and Ronon who's had a very, **very** unfortunate episode with his toilet." At Laura's quirked eyebrow he said, "Let's just say he hasn't gone near a burrito since." He shared a quick evil grin with Laura and then schooled his features into their usual grumpiness. "So I really don't have time right now."

Assuming he'd more than made his point, Rodney turned away from the suddenly pouting Marine and concentrated on the tablet on his desk. It was nearly five minutes later when her voice, very soft and very close, sounded in his ear.

"I'm not fooled by your bravado, Rodney," she whispered. "I know you're petrified."

Rodney gulped and cursed himself when he sensed her smile. "What makes you think I'm afraid to kiss you, Cadman?" Again he cursed himself… he'd sounded like a gawky teenager who was asking the most popular cheerleader to a school dance. In other words he'd sounded like he was way out of his league.

"Your lips, Rodney," she whispered breathlessly, "on my lips in front of Radek and everyone else here."

Rodney's head turned so that he could take a good look at those luscious lips. It just so happened that as her pink lips came into view, her tongue darted out between them and retreated back into her mouth, leaving her lips moist and glistening in the light. Whether the action had been unintentional or by design, the effect was instantaneous want.

Before Cadman could say anything else, Rodney turned and crashed his lips to hers. He was vaguely aware of a crashing sound somewhere in the lab, like someone had dropped something, but he tuned it out as Laura wrapped her arms around his neck and the beautiful tongue he'd gotten an all too brief glimpse of earlier grazed against his lips. His hands moved onto her hips and squeezed the flesh there as he deepened the kiss. He had no idea how long they'd been at it, but when the kiss finally ended they were both flushed and winded.

Cadman was the first to recover. "See? Petrified."

There was only response to that: he kissed her again.

A/N: "Bravado" was written and composed by Neil Peart, Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee of one of the most awesome bands ever, Rush. It was released on their 1991 album, _Roll the Bones._


	56. Meat Loaf

Rodney opened the door to his quarters to find her standing in the hallway, her head slightly bowed with her long strawberry blond locks surrounding her face like a living, colorful frame. When she looked up at him Rodney knew right away what she wanted by the shine in her bright hazel eyes. He never even had the chance to say 'hi' before she uttered three little words that would be the beginning of the end of their on again/off again relationship.

"I want you."

Rodney's heart began thumping in his chest so hard it almost hurt. It always did when Laura Cadman announced with her usual lack of subtlety what she wanted. It was one of the aspects of their association, so to speak, that he found equally endearing and annoying. Right now, however, he was feeling neither annoyance nor endearment. He was feeling his rapidly beating heart sending blood away from brain in an effort to starve that very valuable asset and therefore rob him of the power of logical thought.

And it was working perfectly. Despite himself he stepped aside to let her in, and she didn't hesitate. She strode into his room with all the confidence of someone who had been in there many times over the past year. They had come to know each other's rooms and habits. They had, in fact, come to know each other all too well, emotionally and physically.

And it was through that acquired knowledge that Rodney knew what to do when he turned to find Laura standing next to his bed looking at him, her face contorted into and odd yet beautiful look that was somewhere between pleading and demanding. He moved towards her, not at all unnerved by the intensity of her stare or the way she subtly licked her lips as he got closer to her. Okay, maybe he was a little excited by the lip licking thing, but the last vestiges of thought disappeared as he put his hands and her shoulders, drew her closer to him and planted his lips onto hers.

A slight moan escaped her mouth and went directly into his as his hands slipped along her shoulders and moved up onto her neck to cradle her head. Their lips danced with each other, waiting only moments before allowing their tongues to join in, and before Rodney knew it Laura's hands were roaming over his stomach and chest.

She abruptly stopped their kiss and looked into his eyes again. "I need you."

Rodney captured her lips with his again and a moment later the room was filled with the sounds of deep, wet kisses that were building them both into a physical frenzy that would have only one release.

For a moment his brain reengaged. _'I want you.' 'I need you.'_ She'd said that to him many times, and for some reason his mind harkened back to his sister and a song he'd heard her play on one of his rare visits home and she'd been heart broken. A guy had told her that he wanted her and needed her but that he didn't love her. For some reason, Jeannie hadn't believed that that two out of three ain't bad.

He did. He was quite content with a beautiful, sassy, kickass Marine needing and wanting him. As for love, he could do without it and all the crap that went with it. Definitely.

Laura suddenly stopped the kiss and smiled at him. "I love you," she declared breathlessly for the first time ever.

Rodney couldn't help but return her smile. He leaned in towards her and said just before his lips found hers again, "I love you, too."

A/N: "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" was written by Jim Steinman for Meat Loaf and released in 1977 as a single and then on the epic album, _Bat Out of Hell._


	57. Tina Turner III

The newly minted Jennifer McKay moved her right hand over to cover her husband's left hand as surreptitiously as she could manage, which was nearly impossible seeing as how it was their wedding reception and they were sort of on display for all to see.

Rodney looked to her and managed a smile that probably fooled everyone else, but not her. He was upset and she knew it. And she knew why.

She glanced out at the people sitting at the tables as they listened to Evan's speech. He'd been asked to say a little something on behalf of the city's military contingent in place of John who wanted to skip it since he was the Best Man and had enough on his plate.

"So let me finish…"

"Finally!" John whispered loudly, drawing a chorus of snickers from the audience and a slight glance from Evan who continued on without missing a beat.

"…by wishing the happy couple a lifetime of love and happiness. And I know I speak for the entire military population when I say that we will do our utmost to make sure that happens." Evan started folding up the paper in front of him and looked over to Rodney with a smirk playing upon his lips. "Oh and Doc? If you don't treat her right, you know you're gonna be in a lot of trouble right?"

The room erupted in noise- some people applauding and some whistling with a few oorahs mixed in for good measure.

Everyone was reacting so enthusiastically that they didn't notice Rodney's hand flinch underneath hers or how his jaw tensed.

Evan had been the third person- behind Radek, speaking for the Science Department and Teyla who had spoken for the Athosians- to intimate that Rodney would eventually hurt Jennifer in some way or another. It didn't matter that all three had spoken in jest; it was striking a chord with Rodney, and not a happy one. Jennifer knew Rodney would never hurt her, but she also knew there was a part of Rodney that worried terribly about it.

Once the crowd settled Jennifer turned in her chair as much as her dress would allow so she could face Rodney. She gently pulled on his hand until he turned as well, keeping her hand supportively wrapped around his as she smiled at him.

The rest of the room disappeared and she could see only him, and as the seconds ticked by his eyes brightened until they were the shade of blue that took her breath away.

"Don't listen to them, Rodney," she whispered, and when his brow creased in confusion she added, "When they say you better be good to me. Don't listen to them." The corner of his lips turned downward and she leaned in closer to him. "Will you love me?" He nodded and she asked, "Will you cherish me?" Again he nodded, though this time he smiled as well. "Will you make me happy?"

Rodney's nod was confident as he said in a sure voice, "Yes."

Jennifer smiled as she leaned in closer to him and said just before their lips met, "Then that's all that matters."

A/N: "Better Be Good to Me" is a hit single from Tina Turner's 1984 album, _Private Dancer._ It was written by Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman & Holly Knight and released a few years before by the band Spider.


	58. Conway Twitty

John walked back to the table he, Rodney and Ronon had staked out in the crowded and lightly lit Mess, desperately hoping that his precious cargo- three obscenely large glasses of beer- would make it onto the table and not fall to the floor.

_Come on, Sheppard,_ he silently encouraged himself, _five more feet._

He rushed the last two steps and nearly paid dearly for his haste but Lady Luck, his constant companion since coming to Atlantis, intervened and the three glasses made it safely onto the table without spilling a single drop of the golden nectar contained within them. John couldn't help the self satisfied smirk that materialized on his face, but it quickly turned into a confused frown when he realized that his miraculous feat had been unobserved by his comrades-in-arms.

John looked at his friends and after a moment his head tilted to the side as his confusion deepened. Rodney and Ronon were seated next to each other, just as he'd left them a few minutes earlier, but unlike then when they'd been engaged in a semi heated discussion about the value of brains over brawn, both men were completely silent. More than that, they were completely and utterly mesmerized by something to his left.

It was comical to John that two men who were so fundamentally different would look so eerily similar: both were wide-eyed and slack-jawed, and to top it all off both their heads were gently swaying back and forth a few inches. It took him only a second to realize that their swaying heads were moving in tune with the song that was currently playing, a song that he knew for certain that neither man liked.

Finally John turned to see what had captured his friend's attention and nearly coughed in surprise and appreciation. He shook his head and then maneuvered his way around the table so that he could stand between Ronon and Rodney. Once settled he could get a very clear view of a lady- he couldn't quite determine who she was- talking to a few of the medical people. That in itself wasn't enough to cause his friends to gawk at her like adolescent twits, but the way she bent over the table so she could be heard over the music caused her curvy and pleasant to the eyes posterior to display itself quite prominently. Her protruding rump was moving slightly with the music and was quite obviously the reason Ronon and Rodney's heads were bopping back and forth, and before John knew it so was his.

The music stopped, as did the lady's gyration, but then a faster song started up causing the lady's rear to emphatically bop back and forth and up and down. The sight was glorious and was enough to cause Rodney to almost fall back off his stool and Ronon to crush the glass he was holding in his hands.

John leaned forward, putting his left arm around Ronon's shoulders while putting his right around Rodney's. All he could appreciatively mutter was, "That's what you call tight fittin' jeans."

A/N: "Tight Fittin' Jeans" was written by Michael Huffman and recorded and released by Conway Twitty in 1981.


	59. Alannah Myles

Well, theicemenace and I agreed to a little 'Black Velvet' challenge. She's had hers up for a few days- and I haven't read it yet- and here's mine. Hope you like. Now I'm off to read Ice's…

Word count in the 639 word range.

No beta.

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><p>"He has resisted all of our attempts to gain information from him, Prefect."<p>

Rodney kept his eyes open and stared daggers at the two men before him. At least that was what he was trying to do. It felt more like he was making ga-ga eyes at them than actually glaring. Whatever they had given him was some weird shit. Weird shit in a needle. Weird shit in a dirty looking needle. Weird shit in a dirty looking needle that burned like hell.

Rodney took a deep breath that did absolutely nothing to clear the fog in his head and came to a startling realization: it was pink. Weird pink shit in a dirty looking needle that burned like hell.

He was glad Sheppard wasn't around to see and hear this.

He couldn't remember how he'd gotten separated from his team- one second he was verbally sparring with Sheppard about his gravity resistant hair and the next he was strapped in a chair and given the weird pink shit. Then his mind clouded over. He tried to look into his mind to find the pertinent information that would help him get out of this, but it was just like trying to see through a cloudy Vancouver sky…

"The drug we've given him should have forced him to talk about whatever we ask," said the first guy. He reminded Rodney of Vincent Price for some reason. Maybe it was the mustache, or the voice. Or both.

"And he doesn't?" asked the Prefect, a short plump guy that looked a lot like Danny DeVito, only he spoke with a refined British sounding accent.

"No, Prefect," Vinny replied. "Whenever we ask him anything , even his name, all he talks about is something he calls 'black velvet'." There was a brief contemplative pause. "It must be very important to him."

A smile came to Rodney's face, a smile so wide that it nearly hurt his cheeks. Through the cloudy Vancouver sky in his mind a shaft of brilliant light appeared and he could focus on it with sparkling clarity: the woman he adored more than anything appeared in the light, with big brown eyes and golden hair framing a beautiful round face that smiled when she saw him. She floated towards him, her blond hair, luscious pink lips and pale skin a glaring contrast to her attire: a strapless long dress made of black velvet that hugged her supple curves in all the right places. And the gloves! The gloves that covered her slender fingers and sheathed her arms up past her elbows…they felt so good against his skin when she touched him.

Rodney sighed as she neared him, the feeling of warmth radiating from her chasing all the cloud away until he was sitting only in her sunlight. She licked her lips as she reached towards him, and he felt a jolt of electricity surge through him when the tips of her fingers touched his naked chest.

_Hey! Where'd my shirt go?_

Her gloved hand moved down his chest, down his stomach until…

"RODNEY!"

Rodney jerked awake to find a disturbing lack of Jennifer, and John Sheppard kneeling in front of him with a mixed look of rage and concern upon his face. His voice held only a hint of worry as he said, "Hey there, buddy. Don't worry…we got ya."

Rodney looked around to find Teyla and Ronon pointing their weapons at Vinny and Danny who were literally shaking in their boots. Ronon looked like he really wanted to shoot someone.

Before Rodney knew it he was being lifted to his feet, and with his arm slung around Sheppard's shoulder for support he was heading towards the door leaving Danny, Vinny and the weird pink shit behind him. He was going home, home to Jennifer.

And her black velvet dress.

A/N: "Black Velvet" was written by David Tyson and Christopher Ward. It was recorded by Alannah Myles and released on her 1989 self titled album.


	60. Prism

This one revisits my 'McKay Plus Four' universe, or universes as it were. Here's a little addition to McKay Number Three. Somewhere DaniWilder is experiencing a disturbance in the Force. Elsewhere theicemenace is hoping this is a precursor to something she's asked for. LOL.

622 words.

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><p>Rodney had been propped up on his right elbow watching Laura sleep for almost an hour. It was one of the best things in the universe he thought, to be able to watch this incredible woman with no outside forces acting upon them. He adored the peace that came to her face as she slept without a care in the world. He loved the way her lips formed small but telling smiles when she dreamt of happy times from the past or hopeful times in the future. He even loved the way her lips turned downward when she had a sad dream or a nightmare. He could see it all when she slept: her incredible strength, her stunning beauty, her human fear and her powerful love.<p>

Rodney smirked as Laura smiled in her sleep and her body shivered under the sleeping bag. He knew from experience that the slight quiver had nothing to do with the ambient temperature in the tent. She was dreaming.

Of him.

Just as he'd dreamt of her during the night.

He lifted his left arm from where it had been resting on the sleeping bag and carefully brushed aside a strand of her strawberry blond hair that had fallen onto her cheek. He really did miss her long locks- he missed twirling them between his fingers and how her longer hair had always fallen about her shoulders like a reddish cape- but understood the practicality of her shorter hairdo.

One thing was certain: he'd loved her with long hair, he loved her now with short hair, and he would love her tomorrow no matter what she chose to do with it. She could go bald and he wouldn't care.

His hand fell onto her bare shoulder and he feathered his fingers down her arm until his fingers intertwined with hers. It was telling of just how tired she was that he could do so much to her and not wake her. She had always been a light sleeper, a practice born of necessity in their wartime state, yet she didn't even flinch at his touch.

_Poor thing,_ he thought as a sympathetic smile graced his lips. _She's been roughing it here for almost a month and when I come back I keep her up all night._ He chuckled softly at the thought. The first time they'd made love last night they had both been equally eager participants, and while he'd been equally eager and willing the second, third and fourth times, Laura had most definitely been the one in control of the situation. He didn't have to be a genius to know that for a while she'd thought she'd lost him- the tears she'd let slip from her hazel eyes as they physically expressed their love to each other and the expressions of gratitude and relief she'd whispered that he hadn't been meant to hear told him. It was just one more thing to make it a night to remember: she very rarely cried or thanked God for anything.

Rodney braced himself and moved his right arm out of the way so that he could lower himself down into a lying position. He just got settled when Laura's eyes opened and immediately found his. Her right hand reached over and when her fingers cupped his cheek, a smile as radiant as any sun appeared on her face.

"I was afraid it was all a dream," she whispered.

Rodney reached up to take her hand in his and brought it to his mouth. "Nope," he said before kissing each of her knuckles in turn. When he'd kissed the last one he said, "I'm here."

Before he knew it he was on his back with a beautiful Marine straddling him. She leaned down and said just before her lips found his, "Good."

A/N: "Night to Remember" was written by Lindsay Mitchell and recorded and released by the band Prism on their 1979 album, _Armageddon._


	61. Rush III

In honor of Rush's well deserved and long overdue induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I give you this.

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><p>"I'm not doing it," groused Rodney as he traipsed towards the Stargate. He glanced to his right and said to Sheppard, "Tell the carnies to pack up their circus and fuc…."<p>

"Sorry, Rodney," interrupted Sheppard with just enough sympathy in his voice to indicate he was in fact very sorry about the whole thing. "It's a new procedure apparently."

"A stupid one," retorted Rodney.

"I agree," said Sheppard, "but it's how it is and there's nothing we can do about it."

"I can quit."

John stopped and reached out to grab Rodney's arm to stop him as well. When the scientist looked at him John said, "It's just a meeting. Go in and tell them that you love Cadman and it won't affect your work or the mission."

"Just tell them the truth?" When John nodded Rodney sighed. "Is it really going to be that easy?"

"Just tell them, Rodney," John said with a reassuring pat on Rodney's shoulder. "There's not a ghost of a chance of them doing anything to either of you."

Rodney smiled and started towards the gate. "When did you become the expert in IOA politics and relationships?"

"What can I say?" responded the Colonel with a smile. "I'm a new world man."

Rodney grimaced but then said. "Seems like every other week these days we go into the twilight zone or something."

John knew exactly what Rodney was saying. Things were definitely weirder than usual lately. It seemed like half the word was against them these days and the other half couldn't care less one way or the other. Now the IOA was breathing down their necks about fraternization, like they knew what they were talking about.

"I'm just not in the mood to meet with them just because some paper pusher somewhere got bored and decided to make my life miserable."

John could sense the genuine frustration in Rodney's voice. "What does Cadman think about all of this?"

Rodney rolled his eyes and mumbled something. John couldn't pick out everything, but he was sure he heard 'losing it', 'C4', 'scars', 'witch hunt' and 'justice'.

Rodney came to a halt in front of the DHD and started pressing the symbols that would activate the gate and take them home. "You're going to be there, right?"

"You bet your life," replied Sheppard, filing the desperation in Rodney's voice away in his mind for later teasing. "No one messes with my friends and gets away with it."

Rodney nodded as the gate exploded to life. "Good." He looked up to the blazing sun and said, "Let's get out of here before we roast."

"Right behind you, Rodney," replied Sheppard with a grin as Rodney had taken off before he'd even finished speaking. "Always."

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><p>AN: "Carnies" was written by Neil Peart and composed by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee. It was released on their 2012 Album, _Clockwork Angels._

"How it is" was written by Neil Peart and composed by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee. It was released on their 2002 album, _Vapor Trails._

"Mission" was written by Neil Peart and composed by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee. It was released on their 1987 album, _Hold Your Fire._

"Ghost of a Chance" was written by Neil Peart and composed by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee. It was released on their 1991 album, _Roll the Bones._

"New World Man" was written by Neil Peart and composed by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee. It was released on their 1982 album, _Signals._

"The Twilight Zone" was written by Neil Peart and composed by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee. It was released on their 1976 album _, 2112._

"Half the World" was written by Neil Peart and composed by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee. It was released on their 1996 album, _Test for Echo._

"In the Mood" was written by Geddy Lee and released on the band's 1974 album, _Rush._

"Losing it" was written by Neil Peart and composed by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee. It was released on their 1982 album, _Signals._

"Scars" was written by Neil Peart and composed by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee. It was released on their 1989 album, _Presto._

"Witch Hunt" was written by Neil Peart and composed by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee. It was released on their 1981 album, _Moving Pictures._

"You Bet Your Life" was written by Neil Peart and composed by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee. It was released on their 1991 album, _Roll the Bones._


	62. Brooks and Dunn

Laura opened the door to her quarters and called upon her inner strength and Marine training to keep from scowling and growling when she saw who it was.

"Rodney?" she said slowly as her eyes narrowed and her mouth turned into slight frown. "What do you want?"

Rodney bristled and anger flashed in his bright blue eyes, but it disappeared rather quickly which surprised Laura given the frostiness of her tone.

It had been three days since the incident with the Trust and Colonel Caldwell. The city was safe. She'd seen very little of Rodney. The Colonel was well on the way to recovery. Everything was as it should have been.

Except that she was being transferred back to Earth, early in her rotation and against her will and was leaving in only a few hours.

And she had to wonder just how much the man standing in front of her had to do with it.

"Cadman," he said, and he stopped and cleared his throat when her name had come out in a bit of a squeak. "Cadman," he said more clearly, "I wanted to apolo…to say, you know, I'm sorry."

Laura was stunned, and if she hadn't been so pissed off with him at the moment she was half sure she would have hugged him. As it was she still wanted to kick his ass.

"You're sorry?" she said, her surprise and doubt coming through in her voice enough for even socially inept Rodney to notice.

"Yes," he said softly, which was another surprise: Laura had no idea Rodney could speak softly. "I'm sorry."

_Holy crap!_ thought Laura. _He really is._

"It's alright, Rodney," she said with a sigh, knowing that she had to take the high road on this one. "I wanted to go home anyway," she lied easily.

"Well that's go…what?" Rodney's eyes widened as he leaned a few inches closer to her. "Home? What do you mean home?"

Laura backed a few steps into her quarters and was shocked when he followed her inside enough for the door to close. She motioned to her packed bags with her right hand and said, "I'm being transferred back to the SGC," she replied. "I thought you had something to do with it and that's what you were sorry for."

Rodney glanced around her room and his eyes darkened so that they were seas of stormy blue when he looked at her. "Transferred? I had nothing to do with it! I was apologizing for calling you a Trust spy!"

Laura felt like a heel. "It's okay, Rodney," she said with a smile that was only partly strained. "I can see how you would think that." Rodney's lips pressed together into a fine line and she stepped towards him and put her right hand on his arm. "Really. I accept your apology."

Her smile widened as Rodney gave her a curt nod, and she couldn't resist rubbing her hand downward along his arm as she let it go. "If I didn't know better, Rodney, I'd say you're gonna miss me when I'm gone."

She expected him to scoff at her and enthusiastically declare that she was out of her mind. What she didn't expect was for him to turn around and bolt out the door. She quickly ran to the door and looked down the way he'd gone, but he'd moved so fast she just caught a glimpse of him as he turned the corner.

_What the hell?_

Six hours later Laura walked into Rodney's lab and stopped just inside the door. She scanned the room and after a few moments found him talking to Zelenka in one of the corners. She zeroed in on him and moved toward him, quickly yet quietly, like a lioness on the prowl. She was only a few feet from him when Zelenka left- sputtering in Czech as he usually did after a 'consult' with Rodney- leaving her prey alone and defenseless.

She was only two steps away when he turned and saw her. He just managed to say, "Cad…" before her lips crushed against his in a kiss so hot it seared a trail from her lips downward into the deepest recesses of her belly.

She was just about to pull away when his arms circled around her waist, pulling her tight against him just as his tongue probed against her lips. She was surprised and gasped, giving him the perfect opportunity to slip his tongue past her lips.

Her hands gripped his shoulders as their kiss continued. She had almost completely given herself over to the experience, reserving the smallest amount of brain function to wonder just how it was that Rodney McKay was such a great kisser.

When the kiss finally ended they were both winded, flushed and filled with desire. At least she knew she was, and guessed he was by the way his eyes drilled into hers.

Rodney's arms slipped from her waist and she stepped away from him, noting with an equal amount of trepidation and interest that the heat between them didn't lessen with the change of proximity.

"What was that for?"

Laura waited for her breathing to even out before answering. "For getting my transfer cancelled." He looked ready to protest so she said, "I know it was you, Rodney." He said nothing so she shrugged and said, "Thanks."

"Yes, well, you're reasonably sufficient at helping out around here," he said with his usual snark, but his eyes betrayed the fact that he was only putting on a show. "And you seem to come in handy every once in a while."

"Tell me the truth, Rodney," she said with a smirk, "you want me to stay."

Rodney quick marched to within a few inches of her and looked about ready to blow up. Instead he whispered lowly enough so that only she could hear him, "Maybe."

Before she fully comprehended what had just happened he was gone. She looked around and saw nothing but a room full of scientists trying to look like they hadn't seen a thing and failing miserably. Laura walked through the room, past the gob smacked geeks and into the hall where she collapsed back against the wall and raised her hand to touch her still tingling lips.

"Damn," she said into the empty corridor as a smile spread across her face.

A/N: "You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone" was written by Kix Brooks, Don Cook and Ronnie Dunn and released by Brooks and Dunn on their 1994 album, _Waitin' on Sundown._


	63. Chilliwack

This is the first thing I've written in a long time. I may be a little rusty, so be kind.

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><p>Rodney allowed himself a self-satisfied smirk when the shield generator hummed to life, its display panels brightening with luminescent numbers, letters and diagrams for the first time in nearly ten years.<p>

He'd been hunched over the generator's control panel for nearly an hour as he wrote reams of new coding for the machine, and when he straightened up he felt three pops in his lower back that reminded him that he definitely wasn't as young as he used to be. Not that he needed his back to remind him of that appalling fact. He was reminded of it constantly and by many different ways.

He felt a small hand on his shoulder and turned to regard one of the three native scientists that had been watching him the entire time. All three were beautiful young women, and for a moment he wondered why it seemed that many of the scientists in Pegasus were pretty young women.

"Thank you so very much, Dr. McKay," the young woman- Tianelle- said. Her voice was nearly musical when she spoke, and her blue eyes seemed to glow like little puddles of water glistening in the sunlight. The effect was enhanced by her short chestnut colored hair. She reminded him of someone, not necessarily someone he knew personally, but someone he'd seen. For the life of him, he couldn't remember who.

Rodney nodded as the other two young scientists quickly moved to the display panel to absorb the information shown and commit to memory what he'd done. His focus shifted to Tianelle and he was shocked to find her still smiling at him. "Yes, well," he said as she continued to stare at him, "it was nothing really. Just some quick programming." For split second, his eyes met hers and his breathing faltered. "I can teach you some of it on our next visit if you like."

Before he knew it she stepped towards him and hugged him, her arms going around his waist and her chin, because of her height, resting on his left shoulder. He found himself wrapping his arms around her shoulders and breathing in her fragrance before he could even think about doing it.

"I would like that very much," she whispered close to his ear, sending a shiver throughout his body.

Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by a clearing of a throat, which was tantamount to shooting off a gun if the way he'd jumped back from Tianelle was any indication.

His heart raced and he could feel the heat rising to his cheeks as he looked over to find Sheppard looking at him, disappointment and disapproval easily evident on his friend's face. And even if Rodney could miss the visible signs of Sheppard's anger, there was no mistaking it from the icy tone of his voice when he said, "Time to go, McKay."

Rodney didn't even spare Tianelle a glance as he moved towards the door. When he walked over the threshold out into the yard surrounding the building he saw that Sheppard hadn't waited for him. Rodney sighed and ran to catch up to his friend, and an uneasy silence descended upon them as they walked side by side towards the Stargate.

It wasn't until almost ten minutes later that John finally broke the silence. "I don't know what's going on with you, McKay," he said, "if it's a midlife crisis or boredom or whatever, but whatever the hell it is you better get over it pretty quick." Before Rodney could say anything Sheppard continued. "You're damn lucky it was me that walked in there and saw you in the arms of Mary Poppins and not Teyla," John turned to look at him and ominously added, "or Jennifer."

Rodney couldn't look at John, nor could he say anything for perhaps the first time in his life. They both knew John was right.

The gate came into view and John reached over and grabbed Rodney's arm. They both stopped and turned towards each other. "You're my best friend, Rodney," he said in a very rare moment of seriousness. "If there's anything I can do, just ask." John moved his hand up onto Rodney's shoulder. "Take some time off and spend it with the woman you love. Reconnect. Bond. Remember that she's the best thing that ever happened to you in your life."

John patted Rodney's shoulder before moving off towards the gate, and as Rodney followed two thoughts occurred to him: Tianelle did look a lot like a young Julie Andrews, and John Sheppard was absolutely right.

A/N: "Arms of Mary" was written by Iain Sutherland and released by the group the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver in 1976. The version I have on my playlist is done by Chilliwack who covered the song on their 1978 album _Lights from the Valley._


	64. Lady Antebellum

Rodney McKay stepped through the door and nearly gagged on the stench of cigarettes, booze, sweat and God knew what else. He briefly entertained the idea of having the Daedalus beam him down a hazmat suit, but ultimately decided against it.

As his eyes adjusted to the low light and the fog like smoke in the room, he reflected on the message that had awoken him from a nice peaceful slumber in Jeannie's guest room and brought him to one of the local bars servicing the area around Colorado Springs. He'd been here once before, in the company of Sheppard who had wanted to let loose a little after a series of meetings with some Pentagon brass and bureaucrats that had lasted much longer than they should have. Rodney swore he'd never come back here again.

Yet here he was.

Because of Laura Cadman.

Since his and Jennifer's amicable split two years ago, he and Cadman had been developing what he'd thought was a healthy relationship consisting mostly of sex and camaraderie. Or as Sheppard had so blatantly put it, 'friends with special benefits'.

That had changed on a wild night three months ago. There had been a night of passion that had left them both with very little in the way of functioning brain cells, caused them to throw caution to the wind and ended with Laura having a proverbial bun in her oven.

After the initial shock had worn off, they'd both realized that their lives had been intertwined for a long time and what they'd had was far more than friendship. The word 'love' had even been mentioned.

Then one week ago, just as he'd been about to get to work for the day, he'd received a call from Jennifer asking him to go to the Infirmary immediately. He'd only barely listened to Jennifer as she'd explained what had happened for Laura to miscarry…all he'd been able to do was look at Laura laying on the bed with tears streaming down her face.

They'd been ordered to take some time off, which Laura had appreciated and he'd detested. He, Laura and Jennifer, (who had decided to accompany them to the SGC), had come through the gate and before he'd been able to speak Laura had told him she was going home and to leave her alone.

He'd stayed rooted to his spot dumbfounded as she'd marched away.

"_She's hurting and she'll let you know when she's ready, Rodney,"_ Jennifer had said gently. _"Give her some time."_

So he'd waited, and until the text had come through a scant thirty minutes ago he hadn't heard a word from her.

He looked around the bar and finally saw her walking towards him. She stopped in front of him and as she looked into his eyes she said, "I need you now."

Any anger or pain he'd been feeling melted away at the longing in her voice. He stepped over to her, drew her into his embrace and whispered, "I'm here."

A/N: "Need You Now" was written by Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley, Dave Haywood and Josh Kear. It was released by the group Lady Antebellum in August of 2009 from their album of the same name.


	65. Phil Collins

A sequel to 18 and 33. 535 words.

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><p>Jennifer swiftly lifted her bandaged hand up to cover her mouth, hoping that Rodney hadn't noticed the yawn she was trying to conceal.<p>

"It's late," said Rodney as he fought off a smirk. "Were both injured and had a long day that was way more interesting and physically active than it should have been. We should go to bed."

Jennifer kept her hand covering her mouth to hide the smile that her yawn had turned into. Rodney noticed that as well, and even in the lower than normal light she could see his cheeks erupt into a pink hue of embarrassment.

"You know what I mean!" he exclaimed roughly, though the grouchiness in his voice was easily cancelled out by the smirk on his lips.

Jennifer dropped her hand and laughed. It was so easy to laugh with Rodney, once you got him out of his defensive shell that is, and now that she'd gotten him out of that shell she was very reluctant to let him go. Unfortunately he was right and after the adventure they'd had she was dead tired.

"Sorry," she said as her laughter died down. "You just make it so easy."

"Yes, well," his eyes sparkled as his chin rose an inch fuelled by a bravado the evening had brought out in him, "it's part of my charm."

Jennifer gave the man across from her a warm smile and nodded as she said, "Yes it is."

Rodney nodded once and then stood up from his chair. "I should get going," he said, and Jennifer thought she could hear regret and disappointment in his voice.

Jennifer rose from her chair as well and said, "I'll walk with you." She gave him a smile as she added, "If that's okay with you."

"Yes!" exclaimed Rodney, his voice loud enough with excitement and relief to make her eyes pop open in surprise. He cleared his throat and calmly repeated, "Yes."

They walked out of the Mess and through the hallways in comfortable silence until they reached the door to Jennifer's quarters. They turned towards each other and held each other's gaze for a few moments allowing Jennifer to get a real good look into the bright blue eyes of Rodney McKay.

In the end it was Rodney who broke their eye contact by looking down at his hands. "So these should be fine overnight?" He looked back up to her and added, "Pain wise, I mean. I don't want to have to get up in the middle of the night and head to the Infirmary…"

"You'll be fine, Rodney," she interrupted with a smile. "The painkiller in the ointment won't wear off until tomorrow afternoon."

Rodney nodded and glanced at her door before saying, "Well, have a good night, and thanks for the drink."

"My pleasure," she replied sincerely. She passed her hand over the door sensor making it open for her. "Besides, I've been told you're going to repay me by picking me up and treating me to breakfast in the morning."

Rodney's brow crunched together as he said, "Wait! Who said I would do that?"

Jennifer gave him a sneaky smile and said as the door closed between them, "I did."

A/N: "Who Said I Would" was written by Phil Collins and released on his 1985 album _No Jacket Required._


End file.
